What is cleavage best?

Cleavage is a property of minerals that refers to the way they break when they are subjected to mechanical stress such as impact or pressure. The term best cleavage is used to describe minerals that have the most developed and easy-to-see cleavage planes.

The quality of cleavage in a mineral is determined by the arrangement of the atoms or molecules within its crystal structure. Minerals with a high degree of symmetry tend to have more perfect cleavage because the atoms are arranged in predictable patterns.

Some examples of minerals with best cleavage include mica, graphite, fluorite, calcite, and halite. Mica, for example, has extremely good cleavage in one direction because its atoms are arranged in layers that easily break apart. Graphite, another common mineral, also has excellent cleavage because its layers are weakly held together by van der Waals forces.

Cleavage is an important property in mineral identification because it can help distinguish one mineral from another. By examining the way a mineral breaks, geologists can identify the mineral and determine its properties, such as hardness and density.