What is the Difference Between Cleavage and Fracture?
🆚 Go to Comparative Table 🆚Cleavage and fracture are two distinct properties that describe how a mineral breaks or cracks. Here are the main differences between them:
- Cleavage: This is the property of a mineral that allows it to break smoothly along specific internal planes (called cleavage planes) when the mineral is struck with a hammer. Cleavage planes form along the weakest areas of a mineral's structure, and minerals with cleavage tend to have a characteristic shape. Examples of minerals with cleavage include mica and calcite.
- Fracture: Fracture is the property of a mineral breaking in a more or less random pattern with no smooth planar surfaces. Minerals that are bonded with equal strength in all directions, such as quartz, have no cleavage but instead fracture to form irregular surfaces. There are different types of fracture, including conchoidal (shell-shaped), hackly, and jagged fractures.
In summary, the main difference between cleavage and fracture is that cleavage involves breaking along specific planes, resulting in smooth, flat surfaces, while fracture involves breaking in a random pattern, resulting in uneven, rough surfaces.
On this pageWhat is the Difference Between Cleavage and Fracture? Comparative Table: Cleavage vs Fracture
Comparative Table: Cleavage vs Fracture
The main difference between cleavage and fracture lies in the way a mineral breaks. Here is a table comparing the two:
| Cleavage | Fracture |
|---|---|
| The property of a mineral that allows it to break smoothly along specific internal planes (cleavage planes) when the mineral is struck. | The property of a mineral that allows it to break or crack in directions unrelated to weak planes, forming irregular surfaces. |
| Results in mostly full, smooth surfaces and very few rough edges. | Results in mostly jagged edges and rough surfaces. |
| Minerals exhibit cleavage when they break along curved surfaces to form conchoidal fractures, similar to what happens when glass breaks. | Other types of fractures include even, hackly, splintery, and fibrous fractures. |
| Cleavage can be measured by quality and the number of sides exhibiting that property, with a perfect cleavage leaving no fragment and having a full, smooth edge without any rough surfaces. | Fracture is a more general term and can happen in different ways, with all minerals being capable of fracturing, but some just have more than others. |
In summary, cleavage refers to the smooth, gliding movement of bones against each other, while fracture refers to a break or disruption in the continuity of a bone.
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- Fracture vs Break
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- Multiple Fission vs Fragmentation
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- Cell Plate vs Cleavage Furrow
- Friction vs Shear
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- Crystallization vs Recrystallization
- Heat of Fusion vs Crystallization
- Fusion vs Solidification
- X-ray Crystallography vs X-ray Diffraction
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