What is the difference between Cleavage and Fracture?

Cleavage is how a mineral breaks along its plane of weakness. It occurs along the smooth planes that are parallel to zones of weak bonding. Typically, we use this property for the identification of microscopic examination of minerals. It is essential in cutting gemstones. It holds great significance in the electronics industry.

For example, single synthetic crystals of semiconductor materials are typically sold as thin wafers that are much easier to clean. Fracture is a breakage of a mineral when atomic bonding is present, and there is no weakness.

On the other hand, a fracture is the mark left on a crystal when it breaks, but the atomic bonding between atoms in its crystalline formation shows no weakness is perfect. When put under stress, such minerals break into pieces and no two of which are the same. The fracture is either conchoidal or non-conchoidal. Some cleavage examples include halite, calcite, and gypsum, and two examples of a fracture include quartz and glass.

Cleavage and fracture are two words with different meanings. However, you can differentiate between cleavage and fracture by comparing how both are formed. The term cleavage refers to the weak part of a mineral broken due to stress. Cleavages usually occur at the weakest parts of minerals. Fractures are just the direct opposite of cleavages. A fracture refers to a type of break that forms without any weakness in a mineral. Fractures occur not necessarily because a mineral contains any weak part. What causes fractures are forces from outside. A perfect way to identify a fracture is that no two pieces will have the same shape or size. In the case of cleavage, there are about five different forms. Some of these forms are octahedral, one-directional, cubic, two-directional. If a mineral is two-directional, it means the mineral has two directions. On the contrary, fractures are of two different types; conchoidal and non- conchoidal.

One thing that you should know is that there are two-dimensional surfaces that are known as cleavage planes. The cleavage planes will usually form when the weaker bonds between the atoms are available. Determine the cleavage by checking out the crystal structure of the mineral. You can easily distinguish cleavage planes from fractures because of their appearance. Cleavages are normally smooth and will often have reflective surfaces. A fracture will occur when a mineral breaks and if this happens along the cleavage plane. One thing that you should take note of is that not all of the minerals that you will see right now will have cleavage.