BOOKREVIEWS
Aug. 20, 1959
and strong points of many equilibrium stills described in the technical literature. The last part presents a comprehensive bibliography of binary and multicomponent systems whose vapor-liquid equilibrium composition data have been reported up to 1957. This list amounts t o a total of 1232 references. The book is well written and quite free from misprints and other defects of manufacture. The only criticism t h a t can be offered is t h a t the experimental treatment is confined principally to stills operating at pressures in the vicinity of atmospheric pressure. It is hoped t h a t in a future edition the authors will include all kinds of high pressure vaporliquid equilibrium cells. This book is highly recommended as a reference text to all persons in any way concerned with the vapor-liquid equilibrium relations of liquid mixtures. CHEMICAL ESCISEERING DEPARTMENT OHIOSTATE UNIVERSITY WEBSTERB. KAY COLUXBUS 10, OHIO
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aspects of these problems. This statement is not meant to reflect on the scientific quality of the six chapters involved, but simply to indicate t h a t these chapters did not appear to be readily assimilable by the reviewer. I n my browsing in these chapters I could not find clear explanations of why I should expend the effort t h a t would be required to plow through the complex mathematics the authors employ to obtain their results and to describe what they are doing. I a m afraid t h a t these chapters will have their appeal primarily to those practicing statistical mechanics. I n summary it may be said t h a t the objectives t h a t the publisher and editor hope to attain in this new series are indeed admirable ones. However, it apparently will take some time for authors to change the writing habits t h a t have been inculcated by the editors with whom they most frequently deal. It is to be hoped that the editor of this series will be more successful in communicating his objectives to authors of chapters of future volumes, than he was on the whole in the case of this first volume. It may be an encouraging sign that he was successful in the cases of the authors of chapters 11, VI11 and XI of this present volume. SHELL DEVELOPMEST COMPa4SY EMERYVILLE, CALIFORSIA D. P. STEVENSON
Advances in Chemical Physics. Volume I. Edited by I. PRIZOGINE, University of Brussels, Brussels, Belgium. Interscience Publishers, Inc., 250 Fifth Avenue, S e w York 1, N.P., 1958. xi 414 pp. 16 X 23.5 cm. Price, 811.50. Big Molecules. By SIR HARRYMELVILLE. The hlacinillan .-lccording to the statement of the publisher on its dust Company, 60 Fifth Avenue, S e w York 11, S. 1’. 1958. cover, arid that of the editor in his introductory foreword, 180 pp, 13 X 19 cm. Price, $3.95. the present volume is the first in a new series that has the -4 book whose purpose is to bridge the ever-widening gap purpose of supplying interpretative reviews of advances in between scientists and laymen is most welcome. This little the field of Chemical Physics in a form digestible by non- book demonstrates how the rather complex field of polymers specialist physical scientists. Rather than simply supplying can be made palatable and simple for the non-technical critical surveys of the literature in a specific field, i t is the reader. It contains a minimum of technical language and stated intent of this new series t o supply collections of comterms and is written in a pleasant, narrative style. The prehensive articles, written by experts, in which the authors book is designed t o provide the reader with a broad general may explain their views on a subject freely and without lim- view of the entire polymer field in terms of end-use applicaitation of space. Professor Prigogine in the foreword points tions of big molecules and a little of the elementary chemistry up the need by the following, only too apt, description of involved in their preparation. T h e subject matter has been original papers as published in the journals, “have of necesnecessarily oversimplified both for the sake of brevity and in sity been made as short as is compatible with a minimum of order not to confuse the non-technical reader. scientific clarity.” The book consists of six chapters, the k s t of which serves Prior to setting down the reviewer’s opinion of the manner as an introduction t o what polymers are and how they are in which the various experts followed the charter provided by made. The second chapter describes methods of determinthe editor, it seems desirable to set down the chapter titles. ing the “size of big molecules,” complete with simple diaThese, with their authors, are: I, Heat Transfer in Binary grams of equipment used. KO attempt is made here to Liquid Solutions, Bearman, Kirkwood and Fixman; 11, define number average and weight average molecular weight Theoretical arid Experimental Aspects of Isotope Effects in and the reader would certainly not gain the impression t h a t Chemical Kinetics, Bigeleisen and Wolfsberg; 111, Dielecthe various methods discussed are measuring different things. tric Properties of Dilute Polymer Solutions, de BrouckPre The next three chapters are Fibers, Rubbers and Plastics. and Mandel; I V , Some Physical Aspects of Gaseous ChemiUnder fibers, brief descriptions are given of melt spinning cal Kinetics, Careri; V , Transport Processes in Liquids, and of dry and wet spinning, with diagrams and photoCollins and Raffel; V I , Structure, Reactivity and Carcinographic illustrations. Crystallization phenomena, cold genicity of Hydrocarbons, Daudel; VII, Molecular Theory drawing and heat setting are discussed in simple terms, as of Surface Tension, Harasima; VIII, Recent Developments are also the waterproofing, fireproofing and improvement of in Molecular Orbital Theory, Longuet-Higgins; I X , Inter- crease resistance of fibers. molecular Forces and Equation of State of Gases, Kihara; The chapter on rubbers touches briefly on the theory of S , On Statistical Mechanics and Electromagnetic Properelasticity and describes some simple experiments to illustrate ties of Matter, Mazur; and X I , The Application of the Thevarious points. Vulcanization, reinforcement with fillers, ory of Stochastic Processes to Chemical Kinetics, Montroll conductive rubber and special purpose rubbers arc described. and Sliuler. .-\bout half of the volume, chapters I , 111, V, Compression and injection molding, and extrusion of comV I I , I S and S , is concerned with the statistical-mechanical treatment of the physical properties of matter, about one mon thermo-plastics are outlined in the Plastics chapter. discussed are the manufacture and use of reinforced fim-th, chapters 11, IV and XI, with reaction kinetics, and thermosetting resins, laminated resins for printed circuits, the other fourth, chapters VI and VIII, with quantum and adhesives. chemistry. The final chapter deals with miscellaneous applications of The character of tlie individual chapters isas varied as the characteristics of their authors. Chapter I, for example, is polymers t o show how versatile big molecules have become. These applications include viscosity index improvers for lua short paper, the tenth in a series on the Statistical-Mechanbricating oils, synthetic lubricants, water-soluble thickening ical Theory of Transport Processes, t h a t the reviewer found agents, blood plasma extenders, soil conditioners and ion exneither more nor less comprehensible than other papers by change resins. A short description of the behavior of polythe sainc senior author. I n Chapter 11, Bigeleisen and Wolfselectrolytes (without using the term as such) is included. berg do an excellent job of putting together a critical acThis book can be recommended as most interesting and incount i i f the state of knowledge of isotope effects in reaction formative reading particularly to our non-chemist friends kinetics. The chapter by Longuet-Higgins, entitled Recent Ilevelopnients in Molecular Orbital Theory, is in fact an ex- and to >-oung people who have had an elementary chemistry course and who wonder whether to enter chemistry. T h e ceptionally readable critique of the status of the discussion of the electronic absorption spectra of unsaturated hydro- book also would serve as appropriate collateral reading for college chemistry courses. I n spite of over-simplification carbons in terms of the M-0 theories. and minor errors, even the technical reader may gain someThe reviewer should probably be seriously embarrassed by the necessity for the admission t h a t his interest in problems thing from an over-all general description of the polymer field. concerned with intermolecular forces, which has lain dorSUMMIT RESEARCH LABORATORIES mant for many years, was not titillated to even semi-somnoOF AMERICA CARLS . ZELLXER CELANESECORPORATIOS lence by his browsing in the six chapters dealing with various SUMMIT,iX.J.
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