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What is meant by ´streak´?

Streak

The streak of a mineral is its color when it's in powder form. We usually identify the streak of a particular specimen by rubbing it across a piece of unglazed porcelain (a 'streak plate'). Some minerals leave no streak, or leave a streak that is the same color as the mineral. However, many minerals do have a diagnostic color that is more reliable for identification purposes than the color of the specimen itself.

Comments

9/15/2007 6:36:43 PM
sciencegrl said:

will a diamond leave a streak on a streak plate?

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