journal mentioned is Chemisches Zmztralblatt. The wholly German character of this section is perhaps not surprising in the original, but i t is to be regretted that the English edition fails to commend t o the student such valuable works as Chemical Abstracts, British Chemical Abstracts and "Organic Syntheses". The discussion of the literature is followed by a list of supplementary preparations for which directions are t o he sought in original papers. The hook is excellently printed, with few mistakes; ten were discovered in the reading of perhaps eighty per cent. of the text. The translation in some places retains the unmistakable flavor of the German orizinal. The line drawings are clear, but would win no very high grade from a teacher of mechanical drawing. It is hoped that the foregoing critical account will not misrepresent the high opinion the reviewer holds of this laboratory manual as a guide for students of all stages of advancement. The careful examination of this new edition was a profitable and pleasant experience. If "Gattermann" needs a recommendation i t is heartily given. E. C. WAGNER Umvsxsrm on P s n r s u L v A N r a P ~ ~ A D B LP- B AN . NS~VANIA
S m a a I c T s w s FOR USE IN TEE "QUAI.." COURSE. Wayne E. White, Research Fellow, University of Kansas. Lawrence, Kansas. Private Publication. 1937. 14 pp. 15 X 22.5 cm. $0.25. A pamphlet of a few pages devoted to instructions t o the student for carrying out specific tests for ions in original solutions of unknowns encountered in the usual course of qualitative analysis. The ions considered for such tests are as follows: bismuthons, ferric, ferrous, barium, stannous, stannic, manganous, nickelous, cobaltous, aluminium, chromate, and zinc ions. Directions are also given for the preparation of the organic reagent solutions. Sets of these reagents may be obtained from the author. WARRENC. JOANSON Uwzveaszm or Cmc~eo c m c * o o , ILLINOIS
of such a course. There are numerous examples of bad spelling -probably typographical e r r o r s a n d of word usage. The latter is quite pardonable in view of the author's own statement. Inaccuracies in statement are not numerous. Perhaps the most important are found on page 46. Percentage concentration is erams solute oer one hundred -erams of solution. The abuse of this term is all too frequent in the literature. The author discusses thisand other wages, hut fails to emphajize the currcct mcaning. Molar and normal colutiona a m m d s or equiwlcnts per liter of solution, instead of per liter of solvent as given. The book presents numerous instances of beautifully clear presentation of abstruse ideas. Even a novice can grasp them. For this alone it merits examination by those teaching similar courses. Professor Tanchoco is t o be commended also for his insistence on the sneculative nature of manv of the new conceots. The following is tyl,ical. "IIowcvcr, this theory is far from twing perfect as it is true only of a fictitious ideal solution or of inrmitc dilution, and it is llarticularly disconcerting that the theory fails when it is most needed." In conclusion it may be stated that this work meets the need it was designed t o fill and can probably furnish ideas on presentation to others. MALCOLM M. HARING
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U m n s m on M A ~ Y L A N O COU-BOB PIPE, M * B ~ * N D
IILRM~.STAKY PHYSICAL CREMISTK~. Hugh S. Toylor. h ; i d B. Joloner P r o f c s ~ rof Chemistry, Princeton I:niverrity, and II. Auslin Torlor. Assistant Profewx of Physical Chemistrv. New York university. Second edition. D. Van ~ o s t r a n d Company, Inc., New York City, 1937. xiii 664 pp. 112 figs. 13.5 X 21.5 cm. $3.75.
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This second edition of this text attempts to include an elementary presentation of those aspects of the subject which will enable the student t o appreciate the present-day developments in the science. I n order t o accomplish this, the authors have introduced the development of the quantum idea and applied i t to atomic and molecular systems. I n addition, the treatment of the easeous state and of reaction velocitv * is from a modern point of view. I n the opinion of the re\.iew~r,these changes are very stimulating and should increase the interest of the studmt, as well as the teacher. I t is rrfrcshiug to find a texrbouk in physical chemistry so up to date in these topics. Fmm an educational point of view, the inklnence of research on teaching is significantly illustrated, in that those topics which are so well presented are those with which the authors are actively associated. On the other hand, this high standard is not maintained in other topics. The chapters on solutions, electrical conductance and ionization, and ionic equilibria do not reach tlie high standard set in the other chapters. I n particular, the treatment of transference numbers and conductance is somewhat disappointing. Nevertheless, the authors have bmught forth a hook which in many respects is superior t o the texts previously available and merits the attention of progressive teachers in the field. The reviewer noted onlv one inconsistencv in the oresentation. The treatment of reacrmu vclwity on page 518 is incon&tmt with the trralmrnt on page W2. ThcclTect ofelccrrolyte on the equilihrium ron*tant is present in both caqw MARTINKILPATRICK ~~~~~~
Pwsxwu. C~MISTRY. F. Tanchoco, A.B., Ph.C., LI.B., Pro. fessor of Chemistry, Manila College of Pharmacy. Benipayo Press. Manila, P. I., 1936. viii 173 pp. 21 X 27 cm.
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"This b w k was written for beginners and especially far the Freshman class of the Manila College of Pharmacy. by one who possesses only a working knowledge of English." This quotation from the foreword furnishes the key t o an understanding of the hook. The title is somewhat of a misnomer. "Introductory Chemistry" would he more descriptive, since "the book is intended t o serve as constant reference material during the subsequent studies of Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Analysis." It is somewhat analogous t o the texts, eti., used in v&ous pandemic courses in this country. As in mimeographed texts, only one side of each sheet is printed, the other side being used for lecture nates and sketches of which there are none. Subjects considered are Matter and Energy, Gravitation, Hydrostatics and Hydrodynamics, Heat, States of Matter, Solutions, Cdloids, Cohesion and Adhesion, Affinity, Atoms and Molecules, Valence, Atomic and Molecular Weights, Thermochemistry. Electricity and Magnetism. Ionic Theory, Electrical Nature of the Atom, Theories of Atomic Structure, Types of Comoounds. X-ravs.. Radioactivitv and Nomenclature. Three nppendires are included: a tahle of water-vapor prrvsurts, the common demcnts grouped hy fwnilies with thcir valrncrs, and a tahle of atomic weights. The hook is devoid of mathematics. The author's selection of subjects for an introductory course is open to criticism, althouzh their interest-arousim value is unsuestianed. However. there is a t present no general agreement on the desirable content
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UNIV~RSITY OF PBNNSYLYA~A PAIL*D.LP~*.
PBNNSYLVANI.,
AL-RMIS BUCH,GEHEIMNISDER ,GEHEIMNISSE,mit Einleitung und Erlautemgen in deutscher Uhersetzungvon Ju1iu1 Ruska. Quellen und Studien zur Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften und der Medizin, Band 6. Verlag von Julius Springer, Berlin, 1937. xii 4-246 pp. 5 figs. 17 X 26 cm. RM 38.50. I n the opening paragraph Razi (Rhazes) states that he wrote this book for one of his young students who asked him t o compile something concerning the performance of the secrets of the
art "that would be a guide that he might follow and a standard to which he could refer.. .I have expounded t o him the science of the chemicalart. . .and have written for him a concise, excellent book entitled: Book of the Secret of Secrets. With i t the metals can be raised (in rank). .and i t degrades (the ennobled metal) and brings it t o the original condition. This process I descrihe: . . .If I did not know that my days are numbered, and if my death were not so near a t hand,. . . I would not have troubled to have set down all this in my book, nor would I have taken the pains to do this in so complete a measure. This, my hook. treats of three subjects: The knowledge of materials, the knowledge of vessels, the knowledge of the process." This chemistry text, written about one thousand years ago, still makes excellent reading, but beyond its entertainment value is the important fact that this work was recognized as a masterpiece and exercised a potent influence on the development of science. The course of alchemy followed two divergent channels. The first had its rise in thc Egyptian cult of the ninth to the thirteenth centuries, which beingbased not on experiment and observation developed, when transplanted on European soil, into the welter of literary extravagances and arrant nonsense synonomous with the popular idea of alchemy. The second channel of development had its rise in the Syro-Persian culture which in time was transmitted to the Occident by the Arabs. This rested on the solid foundation of factual knowledge laid down by Razi, who avoided all magic and astrology. He and his successors were the forerunners of modern chemistry. Several manuscripts of the text are known, but after careful comparison Ruska decided to base his translation on the one in the Gttiugen library. Its probahie date is 1561. Translations of medieval alchemical texts often suffer from the use of modern mineralogic and chemical terms as being proper translations of the vague and variable ideas that the alchemical writer called by these same names. The alchemists used dozens of names for the same material, and, contrariwise, one name was often made t o serve for a variety of materials. Razi avoided this confusing practice; he used a straightforward style and described most materials in ~reciseand uneauivocal terms. Color, luster, hardness, taste, odor, fusibility, inflammability, etc., are given so that the recognition of the carriers of these qualities is usually certain, a circumstance that delivered the translator from many of the snares that beset the path of the unwary. At times, the terms used by Razi do not cover the modern meaning, as, for example. "magnisiya" is not magnesia but an ore of manganese. Such questions are handled in the extensive commentary (eighty-two pages) that precedes the translation itself. Apparatus and procedures are described in detail, and the state of development of equipment and the extent to which i t was used are a revelation to those who may have believed that such chemical furniture and knowledge of reactions and behaviors are of a much later date than Razi (865-925). Certainly this type of alchemy is quite different from the mystic. allegorical rigamarole found in so many of the products of Greek alchemy and its dependent Arabian writers. The aim of Razi's alchemy was to change baser metals into silver and gold, and t o convert common racks and minerals into precious gem stones. The means was a powder or water that was to act like a powerful medicament. The basic philosophy was that all materials are carriers of properties which can be increased or decreased by suitable elixirs, by heating, etc.. or by the addition of other materials of like or opposite qualities. The basic qualities included those of earth, water. smoke, air, t o which were added those of oil and sulfur, which conferred intlammabilitv. Deerees of salinitv also entered the - * ~" picture. Here are the roots of the "mercury," "salt," and "sulfur" of the later alchemists. &fany of the procedures described by ~~~i are entirely or substantially valid; others, to us, are nonsensical, and the putative results are figments of the writer's imagination. However, Razi was the first t o expound alchemy in a strictly scientific form, and this, his chief work, leaves the impression that the whole literature, which sets forth alchemy in separate chapters dealing respectively with materials, apparatus, and working
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directions, rests primarily on the presentation in the Book of the Secret of Secrets. How could Razi, who was acknowledged to be one of the greatest physicians of his time, and who enjoyed the highest reputation as a clear-thinking philosopher, so deceive himself that, in all good faith, he could seriously write alchemical books? The answer is simple: other times, other philosophies. His ideology, one accepted, justified his procedures and aims, and his methods and goals were just as legitimate as those of modem chemistry, which are the product of our own scientific heliefs. Was practical use made of this treatise on transmutation? The Giittingen manuscript contains an interesting insertion concerning attempts to prepare the elixirs: "Abu'lqasim al-Muqaddas -may Allah he merciful unto h i m s a y s : 'Verily, I have looked into this book and have seen there not even the slightest indication for bringing forth the spirit of the 'Alam and the 'Aqrab. Therefore, busy not yourself with these two, unless you already know the Secret of the Process-for only then-God willing-are you capable of the Work.' " The foregoing is mostly adapted from the interesting commentary which Ruska has provided. In this elucidation he reveals his competent scholarliness and his complete understanding of this difficult subject matter. In the July. 1936, issue of Tnrs JOURNAL (page 313) may be found an essay "Ruska's Researches on the Alchemy of al-Razi " The author, R. Winderlich, also wrote the biographical sketch in the Festschrift issued in February, 1937, in honor of Ruska's seventieth birthday (Ahhandlugen zur Geschichte der Medizin und der Natumissenschaften, Heft 19). I n these will he found the background of the laborious researches which enabled this man of transcedent talent and indomitable industry t o put out this superlative discussion and translation of one of the classics of early alchemical, or should we say chemical, literature. I t is unfortunate that the high price will preclude a wide sale. RALPHE. OESPER
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ORGANICSYNTHESES,XVII. L. F. Fieser, Editor. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York City, 1937. v 112 pp. 2 figs. 15 X 23 cm. $1.75. The current volume of this valuable series contains directions for the preparation of: aconitic acid, y-aminobutyric acid, earninocaproic acid, 1.2-aminonaphthol hydrochloride and 1.4 aminonaphthol hydrochloride, henzoylene urea, hromal, phromohenzaldehyde, 4-hromoresorcinol. l,3-butadiene. Zcarbethoxy-cyclopentanone, cellobiose, arsellohiose actacetate, chelidonic acid, cholestanone, dihydrocholesterol, 2,bdimethyl5-carhethoxypyrrole. 8,B-diphenylpmpiophenone, ethyl ethoxalylpropionate, ethyl methylamolanate, unsym. heptachloropropane, 2-ketohexamethyleneimine,6-methylwad, 8-naphthoic acid, 8-naphthoquinone and a-naphthoquinone, pentaerithrityl bromide and iodide, a-phenylethylamine, d-and l-a-phenylethylamine, tetramethylene chlorahydrin, tricarbethoxymethane, and triphenylethylene. There follows an appendix containing "later references to preparations in preceding volumes," and "additions and corrections for preceding volumes." This publication fills a very definite need, and i t is particularly gratifying to note that many of the preparations r d e c t the trends of modern orpanic research.
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MOTIONPICTURESOB THE WORLD,The Educational Film Directory. International Educational Pictures, Inc., 40 Mount Vernon Street, Boston, Massachusetts. 66 pp. 27.5 X 21.5 a.Subscription price $0.50. (-0 issues annually.) This directory contains a list of film subjects which includes all countries, art, biography, entertainment, history, industry, nature, religion, science, sports, snd transportation.
