Block

Blocks are the basic units of structure in Minecraft that can be directly placed in the game world.

Behavior
Blocks are arranged in a three-dimensional grid of 1-cubic-meter cells. Each cell usually contains exactly one block; exceptions exist in the form of slabs, vines, snow layers, turtle eggs and sea pickles.

Together, blocks and fluids build up the in-game environment, and most can be harvested and utilized in various fashions. Some blocks, such as dirt and sandstone, are opaque and occupy their entire cubic meter, while other blocks, such as glass and flowers, are transparent or non-solid. Explosions destroy some blocks more easily than they destroy others.

Some blocks, such as torches and glowstone, emit light. The amount of light they emit varies widely; see this table of light values for further information. Opaque blocks completely block light, while transparent blocks can have no effect on light, block the light, or merely weaken it.

Almost all blocks ignore gravity, with the exception of sand, red sand, gravel, anvils, dragon eggs, concrete powder, scaffolding, and snow.

When broken, blocks emit sounds and particles associated with themselves, except in the following cases:


 * When the block is removed by a piston.
 * If the block is affected by gravity and falls into an invalid space.
 * Anvils that are destroyed by running out of durability or falling. Only particles are missing.
 * If the block is washed away by a flowing fluid.
 * If the block can be replaced by other blocks, and is replaced.
 * If the block is a rail, powered rail, detector rail, activator rail, redstone wire, redstone comparator or redstone repeater and its supporting block is removed.
 * If the block is leaves and decays.

Block height
Most solid blocks are 1 meter high (3.28084 ft), but certain blocks (especially slabs and stairs) have non-standard block heights.

A player can automatically step up from a lower to a higher height if the difference is at most 0.6 ($3/5$) of a block or 1.9685 feet.

Also, the world height limit is 256 blocks/meters (839.895 ft).

Textures
The textures on the faces of blocks are 16×16 pixels. Most blocks are proportionately one cubic meter by default, but their shape can be changed using models.

Most blocks have static textures, but these blocks are animated: water, lava, Nether portal, End portal, End gateway, prismarine (slab; stairs; wall), sea lantern, magma block, seagrass, kelp, fire, lantern, lit campfire, lit blast furnace, lit smoker, stonecutter and command block.

Using resource packs, the player can change the textures and resolution of blocks, including whether their texture is animated. They can also change the shapes of blocks using models and the size of blocks to any size with equal width and height, though sizes that are a power of two tend to work better.

Bedrock Edition
These blocks can be accessed only $$. In this edition, item frames work as block entities, old stonecutters are obtainable only by inventory editing, and glowing obsidian, invisible bedrock, and nether reactor cores are not obtainable at all but continue to exist in old worlds.

Education Edition (mobile) only
These blocks can be accessed only $$ and $$ when education options are enabled.

Removed blocks
Removed blocks no longer exist in current versions of the game.

Technical blocks
Technical blocks are blocks whose main functions are strictly tied to the usage of other blocks. They cannot be acquired through normal gameplay. Most of them cannot be obtained with commands and even external editors, but others require commands or mods to obtain. They serve various purposes during events within the game. If acquired, they usually have a missing texture.

Many of these blocks have different representations in the inventory; flint and steel is used to place fire, water and lava can be placed with their respective buckets, and blocks such as beds, doors, cake and flower pots have separate inventory items.

Trivia

 * Certain blocks may interpret positions they cannot be placed in by normal means as a valid position. For example, a sign placed in midair via or through  remains in midair even when updated, until either it is broken, or a block is placed below it and broken.