Thorbastnäsite

The place where the mineral was first found and described — by convention, the reference point for the species.

Resistance to being scratched, ranked on the Mohs scale from 1 (talc, marked by a fingernail) to 10 (diamond, scratches everything below it). The classic field test.

The hue of the mineral itself. Often unreliable for identification — many species occur in several colours depending on trace impurities or radiation damage.

Whether the mineral is isotropic (light travels at one speed in all directions, like in glass) or anisotropic — uniaxial or biaxial. Defines which optical tests apply.

One of seven geometric families that describe a mineral's atomic symmetry: isometric (cubic), tetragonal, hexagonal, trigonal, orthorhombic, monoclinic, triclinic. Two non-crystalline classes — amorphous and icosahedral — also appear.

The full symmetry description of a crystal's repeating atomic pattern — 230 distinct groups, written in Hermann–Mauguin notation (e.g. P6₃/mmc).

The lengths of the unit-cell edges (a, b, c) in ångströms — the smallest repeating box of atoms that builds the crystal.

The number of formula units contained in a single unit cell.

The overall shape and habit a mineral tends to grow into — cubes, prisms, plates, fibres, druses, masses.

Chemical elements that make up the mineral's ideal formula, listed by atomic symbol with their share of the total mass.