JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
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COLLISION PROCESSES IN GASES
F. L. Arnot, late Lecturer in Physics, University of Sidney. Fourth edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1950. viii 104pp. 37 hgs. 11 X 17om. $1.25.
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THE KINETIC THEORY OF GASES Martin Knudsen, Professor of Physics, University of Copenhagen. Third edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1950. vii 64 pp. 20 figs. 11 X 17 cm. $1.25.
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of a single investigator fits in with the discoveries of others in the same field. For the exuerienced research worker these books
them very convenient for reading in odd moments, anoh as on the train or while waiting for one's wife to dress or for the fish to bite. Their modest price, and facile and authoritative style make them very attractive. WALTER B, KEIGHTON SW*.T"MO.ECOL'BDB
X-RAYS
B. L. Worsnop and F. C. Cholklin. Third edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1950. viii 17cm. $1.25.
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47 figs. 11 X
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THESEfour little books are fram the series known as "Methuen's Monographs on Physical Subjects," published in England by Methuen and Co. Ltd., of London. Each one is an exposition of a restricted field of scientific inquiry, written for readers of "average scientific attainment." Mr. k n o t ' s monograph is restricted to collision processes in gases a t low pressures where the mean free paths of the colliding particles are large compared to their diameter. Under these conditions single collisions may be studied. Such collision processes as glow and are discharges, or diffusion,which occur at higher pressures and must be studied by statistical methods, are excluded from the hook. Professor Knudseu writes principally of his own investigations on the effusion of gases through holes or tubes, heat conduction, coefficient of acccmmodation, etc., and deals only with that part of the kinetic theory that he has found useful in his own researches. Such topics as Maxwell's law for the distribution of velocities of gas molecules, or equations of state for nonidesl gases are therefore omitted. The monograph on X-rays has sections on the production of X-rays, X-ray spectrometry, Bohr's theory of emission
trs, using "the picturesque language of the older thearv. . talkine . ~ ..freelv" about such things as electronic nosition and orhitnl motion." for LC maintain? that "the eapcriuwnt~lph)+ vist a n d chemist inevitably cling to this n r r c k a ~ elest thrv bc drowned in 1 1 rnnthcrnatical ~ arn." Ilc nwt~rtlwlrrsirdirates thase points a t which the new quantum theory or wave mechanics are particularly illuminating. Each author includes a bihliography or suggestions for detailed reading so that those whose interest is stimulated mayconsult other sources for a more comprehensive treatment of the subject. The advertising statement an the jacket that the series is intended to supply "a compact statement of the modern position in each subject" should mislead no one. "Modern" means "not ancient," and is not to bo confused with contemporary. The first two of these books were written in 1933 and have been ~~~
1946. However, neither the failure t o revise some of these monographs nor their necessarily circumscribed nature detract much fram their value. They are not treatises, but more akin to an exolanatian hv . the author of his own research interests. .intimate I he studmt s h u t to undrrtrrkr r*mnli can learn from tlrrse hook- lmw one rcspnrvh proldcrn Iwdr ro mother, how the work
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PHOTONS AND ELECTRONS
K. H. Spring. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1950. vii 108 pp. 38 figs. 11 X 17 cm. $1.75.
ATOMIC SPECTAA
R. C. Johnson, Master of Queen's College. University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. Second edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1950. viii 120 pp. 38 figs. 11 X l7cm. $1.25.
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THIS book, one of "Methuen's Monographs on Physical Suhbjects," is a worthy newcomer to that excellent series. The object of the book is to present a fairly brief account of present-day knowledge concerning the more important ways in which electrons interact with radiation. The phenonlena dealt with me not primarily those involving low energies (of the order of one or a few electron volts), in which the chemist is mainly interested, but rather those involving high energies (kev. and mev.), of interest more to the radiation physicist. The book is written for readers of average scientific attainments, and the treatments given presuppose a. general familiarity with quantum theory and elementary radiation theory; there is, however, a chapter on "Fundamentals" in which the salient points of the presupposed theoretical background are reviewed very briefly. For derivations of the many equations given the reader is for the most part referred elsewhere. Processes in which photons lose energy to electrons, namely the photoelectric effect and the Compton effect,are firat treated, and then the reciprocal processes, in which electrons lose energy with the production of photons, as in Bremsstrahlung and Cerenkcv radiation, are discussed. After a brief introduction to the nature of the positive electron, the phenomenon of pair-production and the reciprocal process of electron-positron annihilation are treated. In the final chapter cosmic ray phenomena are described and treated in the light of the processes mentioned earlier, and the theory of shower development is summarized. Throughout the book considerable emphasis is placed on the directional aspects involved in the processes treated. In many places in the book experimental reresults are presented and correspondence with theory is discussed. DAVID P. SHOEMAKER Cmrsonar* 1 w e m ~ u l . sOF Tscnsomor
P * a * o m ~ .CALIFORNIA
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A TEXTBOOK OF GENERAL ORGANIC CHEM. ISTRY: STEREOCHEMISTRY
E. d e Barry Barnett, formerly Head of the Chemistry Department, Sir b h n Cass Technical Institute. Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, 169 pp. 14 X 22.5 cm. $4. Ltd., London, 1950. ix
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ITSEEMS unfortunate to this reviewer that the author has published this material as s. separate book instead of following his original plan of using it as a chapter in an advanced textbook of organic chemistry. He says in the preface that "no textbook on stereochemistry has appeared in English since the publication of the second and final edition of Stewart's 'Stereothemistry' in 1919." Although this statement technically is correct, an objection t,o it can be raised, since the chapter entitled "Stereoisomerism" by Shriner, Adams, and Marvel in Gilman's "Organic Chemistry," published first in 1938 and revised in 1943, is a more extensive treatment than that of the hook under review. Moreover, in the reviewer's opinion, this book is less clearly written
MAY, 1951 and, except for a few instances, is no more upto-date than the chapter by Shriner, Adsms, and Marvel. A few examples will indicate the nature of the objections that can be made to the book. Since reference is made ta the theoretical work of Boys, of Candon, and of Eyring, one would expect reference also to that of Werner Kuhn and of Kirkwood. Similarly it is difficult to understand the failure to mention the experimental work of Werner Kuhn, who first demonstrated the formation oi an optically active compound by the action of circularly-polsrieed light, and of Prelog and Wieland, who resolved Troeger's base and thus prepaxed the first optically active compound, the activity of which is due to tricovalent nitrogen atoms. Contrary to the author's statement, it has been shown that the direction of approach of a group during a Walden inversion is not governed by the electrical properties of the groups taking part in the displacement reaction. The author writes formulas for the conjugate acids of esters and of carboxylic acids with the protons on the dkaxyl or hydroxyl oxygen atoms, whereas the currently preferred location is on the earbonyl oxygen. An appendix of thirteen pages is devoted to the construction of models composed of solid tetrahedra. Such mdels a m hardly the most help ful type for visualizing the configurations of molecules. This reviewer hesitates to find fault with minor matters that have no bearing on the scientific aspects of the treatment. However the rather frequent typographical errors, the misspelling of authors' names. the inconsistencies in the hwhenation and com". pounding of words, and the erratic inclusion of authors' names in references at the ends of chapters cannot help hut annoy the reader. CARL R. NOLLER
ORGANIC CHEMISTRY P. I. Durrant, Selwyn College, Cambridge University. Long. mans, Green and Co.. Ltd.. New York, 1950. xi 544 pp. 60 figs. 18 tables. 14.5 X 22.5 cm. $3.75.
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Tms book offers an interesting contrast in approach to its subject in oomprtrison with American elementary textbooks. Theory and laboratory practice are treated concurrently, the text being divided about equally between the two. Durrant's text is a little more detailed than most one semester American hooks, but by judicious selection of material could well be used for such a course. Since Durrant bas laboratory procedures for each class of organic molecules interspersed throughout the book, it should be used as both laboratory manuel and lecture text. In Chapter 1 the electronic structure of the elements is considered in more detail than in most elementary American texts. The last part of the chapter is devoted to a discussion of resonance usine CO*as a model oomnound.
Aliphatic as well as aromatic are considered. Also a hasty explanation of optical and geometrical isomerism is given. This chapter was a disappointment since the title leads one to believe that the over-all objectives of organic chemistry were to be die cussed rather than merely an outline of nomenclature. Chanter 3 on Laboratom Technioue contains a laree number of
ough and well b t r a t e d &th drawings of the necess&y apparatus. With Chapter 5, page 104, Durrant continues, where many American books begin, with a study of paraffins. Aliphatic chemistry is covered in the next 198 pages. Then follows a
ohapter on optical and geometrical isomerism, one on polyhydric alcohols, and then one on carbohydrates. The next 122 pages are given to aromatic chemistry. Chapter 29, 34 pages, is a recapitulation of all the important organic reactions in tabular form with a brief summary statement of the usefulness and limitations of each. This chapter should be welcomed by students preparing for exams. The last chapter in the book discusses how organic compounds are prepared industrially from the four fundamentals, carbohydrates, oils and fats, coal, and petroleum. Students will find this a. most interesting chapter. Durrant emphasizes a point often neglected: that the various countries frequently use quite differentraw materials to make the same cbemical. There are no questions at the end of the chapters, but at the end of the book a section of 314 review questions is included. CORWIN HANSCH
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING COST ESTIMATION Robert S. Aries and Robert D. Newton, Adjunct Professor of Chemical Engineering, Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, and Chemical Engineer, Charles Pfiaer and Co., Ino., respectively. Chemonomics, Inc., New Yark, 1950. 109 pp. 27 tables. 67 graphs. 21.5 X 28 cm. $5. ONEimportant function of the chemical engineer is to estimate the cost of the new plant which will produce the chemist's brain child. If the cost is too high the completed research project remains only that. This hook gives charts and rules based on published cost figures for installed equipment which will permit an engineer to estimate with s. fair degree of accuracy the cost of the required plant. The material presented here is largely a callection of graphs and tables previously published in Chemical Engineering and elsewhere. Unfortunately, the literature citations are frequently incomplete, and time is wasted seeking the original article. Beeau~usethis is one of the few collections of such information the book will be consulted frequently by engineers making cost estimations. KENNETH A. KOBE
UNN~RBITV OB TEXAS A a s ~ n i TEXAS .
HANDBOOK OF ANTIBIOTICS A. L. Baron, S. B. Penick & Ca., New York. Reinbold Publishing Corp., New York, 1950. viii 303 pp. 16 X 23.5cm. $6.50.
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"HANDBOOK of Antibiotios" is a descriptive msnusl oondensed from the accumulated litzrature existing in late 1919 and, in some instances, early 1950. I t presents abbreviated details of history, production, chemistry, bacteriology, and pharmitcology for many of the 141 antibiotics listed. The author has considered an antibiotic to be a metabolic product that is antagonistic in low concentration to the growth of one or more microbial species. Origin is not restricted to produotsof microbial metabolism; thus, such materials as plumbagin and tomatine are included. Disoussion of each antibiotic includes portions of the following dstails: history4iscoverer, productive organism, synonyms; production-type of fermentation, formulation of media, expected yields, methods of isolation and purification; ehemistry-constitution, properties, reactions, derivatives; bacteriology-method of assay, microbial spectra. in vitro and in uivo, mode of action, factors affecting activity, microbial rosistence; pharmacologytoxicity, physiology, blood level, spinal fluid level, fetal blood level, absorption, excretion, diffusion. The attempt to include all rtntibioties has made the manual erratic in balance. Many of the entries are discussed thoroughly; others, however, receive little attention. Althoueh this situation results unquestionably from the soarcity of p u k x & m s relative to certain-antibiotics,
