RECEBT BOOKS SUENTIFIC Sow~~1E I Ns THE UNITED STATES. Ralph 3. Bates. A Publication of the Technology Press, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. John Wiley and Sons, Inc.. New York. 1945. vii 4-246 p. 14 X 22 cm. $3.50. This b w k discusses the history and influence of the scientific societies of the United States, and sets forth the extent and detail of the basis upon which any roster of scientific personnel will have t o be constructed. The five chapters carry headings which indicate clearly the scope of their contents-I. Scientific Societies in Eighteenth Century America; 11. National Growth. 1800-1865; 111. The Triumph of Specialization, 1866-1918; IV. American Scientific Societies and World Science, 1919-1944; and V. The Increase and Diffusion of Knowledgeand are followed by an excellent bibliography and a carefully constructed, very useful index. ---. The hook does not contain satisfactory accounts of the histories of particular societies, hut i t tells where such accounts may be found and it places the societies in relation t o their times, t o the causes which brought them into existence, and t o thecultural movements of which they form part. I t is a good job of historical writing, tightly packed with documented facts of which it eives an estimate and an internretation.
duce a most acceptable text for students planning a career in chemical engineering. As the author points out, the sacrifice of museum material has provided space for the development of topics of lively interest. I n a few cases the space is apportioned fairly enough; but the number of pages devoted t o certain favorite topics is so large that the net gain is nullified, and some of the fundamental topics have t o be passed over much too brietly. Thus four chapters are devoted t o the ceramic and related industries (lime, cement, etc.) while the metals are crowded into five chapters, two of which are on iron and st&. I t is apparently expected that the text should be used by students with no previous training in chemistry or physics, and considerable space is devoted t o the most elementary definitions and t o the relation of metric t o English units. Some of these early paragraphs however should be rewritten far the sake of clarity. After the distinction has been made between elements and compounds, and between atoms and molecules, the student is led t o infer that for crystalline substance such as sugar there are individual molecules possessing the physical as well as the chemical properties of the substance, color, crystalline form, etc., "just as national characteristics are determined by the characteristics of individual citizens." H e is further led t o believe that molecules of "most substances" would be visible if onlv ~, our microscopes were nlore powrful. Later on it mas be ineffective to warn such a student (p. id21 that there is "little value" in the solar-system atomic diagram-he is too liable to reynrd such diagrams as photographic reproductions of the atom. Such oversimplification in the early pages goes hand in hand with a discussion of isotopes and the mass spectrograph-diagram of the apparatus and typical mass spectrograms are given on page 31. although both idea and vocabulary must be entirely new t o the beginner. The physical method for atomic weight determination follows immediately after the chemical method, and the treatment of both is too sketchy t o satisfy the needs of a beginning student. The most recent discoveries and applications are generally well written and up t o date a t the time of going to press. There is a good though brief exposition of modem ideas on cormsion; plastics and elastomers are interestingly explained; reaction rate and catalysis are treated more clearly than in many general college texts; there is a gwd discussion of the cyclotron, and some reference t o nuclear transformations. Less *leasing are the hurried and overcomplicated treatment of pH measurement, where the HY. calomel-, quinhydrone-, and glass electrodes are intermingled with complex diagrams; of isoelectric point; and of phase diagrams which rather discouragingly are introduced by the statement that "no one can learn much about metals and alloys without becoming familiar with phase or equilibrium diagrams," followed by a complex AI-Cu diagram suitable for an advanced text but completely out of place as a first introduction to the subject. Avogadro's principle is given ex c o t M a , with no explanation of its experimental foundation, and is illustrated with a bewildering example: "Sulfur dioxide gas weighs a tri0e more than twice as much as an equal volume of oxygen. So every molecule of sulfur dioxide must weigh nearly twice as much as a molecule of oxyeen." "Nearlv" means t o nearlv evervone not "aooroxi. mitely" but "al&st," a n d t h e prinfiple of Avogadro is made needlessly involved. The hydrolysis of urea is given (p. 95) as a method for ammonification, although neither hydrolysis nor urea has previously been mentioned. Hydrolysis turns up again on page 123. and is finally defined on page 128 as a reaction involving salts and water. The word "stable" is used in the intraductorv in~ex, cbaoters ~~~~~,. -~~ . plaining the distinction between atom and molecule. The word is later defined (p. 48) in a di.irusrion of the activity series, while "unstable" is defined (in a fwtnote) on page 213. l'hc entire ~
AND TECHNOLOGY.C. L. Mantell, CALCIUM M~ALLURGY Consulting Chemical Engineer, and Charles Hardy, President, Charles Hardy, Inc. (A. C. S. Monograph, No. 100.) Reinhold Publishing Corporation, New York, 1945. 148 pp. 32 figs. 30 tables. 15 X 23 em. $3.50. This interesting book contains one chapter on the properties of calcium; one chapter on the production of calcium; eleven chapters on calcium alloys; and three chapters on various uses of calcium. The authors state that as much of the apililsble information as can be published is gathered in the book but emphasize that many applications of calcium metal are of the secret art or unpublished variety. The book is well written and very informative. The many phase diagrams of the alloys are well drawn and should be of value t o teachers of physical chemistry; the material on preparation and properties should be of use t o teachers of inorganic chemistry. ARTHUR A. VERNON
N o s r ~ s ~ s r aUwsatirrv ~w BOSTON, MASSACWSBTT~
GENECAEMISTRY.An elementary survey emphasizing industrial applications and fundamental principles. Fifth Edition, rewritten and revised. Horace G. Deming, Professor of Chemistry. University of Nebraska. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1944. x 706 pp. 167 figs. 14 X 22 em. $3.75. This most recent addition t o the Deming series purports t o be a fifth edition, but the text has been so largely rewritten that, in spite of many desirable features, it suffers the faults of a first: typographical errors; cross references and formulas incorrectly given; sections picked up from earlier editions apparently out of place; and occasional controversial or incorrect statements made as statements of fact. There are 712 pages, compared t o 774 in the fourth edition, but the smaller page margins allow an actual increase of almost 20 per cent in the number of words per page. There are 15 pages of appendix and logarithm tables. The text is desiened for a dual numose: t o fit a brief course such as that of t h e AST program; o r t o prepare engineering students for more advanced courses. The basic idea is sound, and the elimination of objectionable points in subsequent printings will pro.
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chapter on electrochemistry has for some reason been postponed t o the closing pages, in spite of t h e overwhelming importance of the subject throughout the general chemistry course. Such dislocation of subject matter is made still more apparent hy the cross references. I n Chapter 9 alone (on water) crass references are given t o 35 paragraphs, 27 of which are to advanced sections not yet encountered by the student. A little more work here by the author would simplify greatly the task of the student* task now well nigh insuperable if the student is conscientious. The discussion of "five types of chemical change." p. 24, is either too long (since one of the five types mentioned is ignored. except for one insignificant example, throughout the remainder of the book) or too short (since equally important types are omitted from the list). The explanation hased upon the theory of Dalton that atoms can he shuffled, much as a pack of cards, is given in the present tense, although it is no longer true, as in the author's example, that we think of the fermentation of sugar as the breaking up of its molecules into their constituent atoms. and then the reassembling of these atoms into new molecules of alcohol and carbon dioxide. A number of statements are made which are open t o question. Some of these are doubtless due t o incomplete checking of the proof, as must be the formula for 1.2-dichloroethylene, which on p. 498 is called ethylene dichloride; the statement an p. 28 that in the combustion analysis of an organic compound, from the weights of Conand HIO produced we may calculate the percentages of hydrogen and oxygen in the sample; and the definition on p. 648: "One coulomb is equivalent t o the charge on 6 X loP8 electrons (Avogadro's number)." Some additional errors, obviously typographical, are the structural formula for propylene, p. 506; the graphic formula for cellulose. p. 535; the figure "50" for "1W" on p. 482; and various crass references, not all of which have been checked. It has already been suggested that most of the faults of the volume are due t o the haste with which it has been assembled. Such undue haste is not apparent in the preparation of the exercises a t the ends of the chapters. These numerous questions and problems are well chosen and thought provoking. If in a subsequent printing they can be set in larger type they will constitute the most outstandingly desirable feature of a successful text. P. Y.JACKSON U N l r e ~S r ~ r s sN A V A L Auosrrv ANNAPOL~S, M~YGAXD FUNDAMENTALS OP PHYSICS. Henry Senat. Associate Professor of Physics, the City College. College of the City of New York. 593 pp. Farrar and Rinehart, Inc., New York, 1945. xii 368 figs. 24 tables. 15 X 23 cm. Competition among texts for first-year college physics is so keen that any new book must be exceptional if i t is t o he outstanding. "Fundamentals of Physics'' is not exceptional, but it is fundamentally sound and should be successful. The p r e s e n t a t i ~of ideas has been worked out with great care. A simple and direct example is f i s t presented, words are carefully defined, and then the whole idea is expanded. Great care is taken t o avoid analogies, as leading t o loose thinking and confusion rather than clarity of thought. The treatment is in almost every case brief and directly t o the point. I n fact, some may feel that tw many of the usual derivations of formulas are omitted and too many statements made without indicated experimental or theoretical support. This approach was deliberate, in order t o shorten the book. but a few sections such as those on the kinetic theory of gases and the theory of the hydrogen atom have been treated fully t o show how far one can go in physics with elementary methads. I t is quite apparent that the author is in complete command of his subject, and acceptance of the book must depend upon whether or not one approves of the method of presentation. At the end of each chapter is a long list of problems and many searching questions. Proper use of the questions should force the student t o fill in many of the gaps in the formal presentation.
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Answers t o all the add-numbered problems are given in t h e appendix, together with a useful glossary of physics terms and the usual tables. The book is also smaller than usual because of an almost complete lack of photographs. Numerous drawings and diaa a m s occur throurhout the book.. but thev " ~ cannot .helo. the student to viwalize instruments and dcviecs associated with the practical applications of the subject. Careful demonstration Iecturm, or a good set of lantern slide?., should be used with thi5 text. The chapters on mechanics are well done, with many clever approaches that should help the student t o deal wisely with questions of force, weight, mass, power, and acceleration. No wave theory is presented. The topics of heat are fairly well covered, especially in the kinetic theory, hut the carrelatian of the gas laws, as shown in the P-V-Tsolid is completely missing. The sections on electricity are conventional, except for the lack of the oft-misused water analogy of electrical cells and circuits. The treatment of alternating currents includes vector diagrams for the impedance effects of inductance and capacitance. Electrostatic, electromagnetic, and practical units are all used in appropriate sections. The M-K-S system is only briefly described. Sound is verv brieflv covered. with little mathematics and no real wave theory. T h e treatment of light is more complete and includes a brief discussion of nuclear phenomena. This book may be called a streamlined physics text, with t h e emphasis on the physics and not on the applications of physics. It is well adapted t o the teaching of the fundamentals hut will not be of much use as a reference work for students of other fields of science. E. P. LITTLE P-sS EXBTBR.
EXZTBB
ACIDBUY
NEW H*.PSRIR&
COLLEOECHEMISTRY.Herman T.Brircoc, Professor of Chemistry, Indiana University. Hougbtou Mifflin Company, 586 pp. 267 figs. 23 tables. 19 X Boston, 1945. viii 25cm. 53.50. The present work of Professor Briscoe's is a revision of his "Introduction to College Chemistry." According t o the preface, the general plan and objectives of the hook remain unchanged; the alterations which have been made are largely ones of method of presentation and sequence of topics. One of the major innovations is the adoption of a two-column, larger page which contributes as greatly to the reduction of eye fatigue a s does the very clear type. If in the temper of the day one had t o classify this book a s radical or conservative, it would probably be placed just left of center. The book follows the conservative approach of developing the subject historically, but modern theories have been iatraduced very early where it has been found pedagogically helpful. Thus, while the atomic theory of Dalton, including the Law of Multiple Proportions, precedes the discussion of the structure of atoms, the latter appears in an elementary way in Chapter 3. The topic of structure of atoms. t o be sure, is taken up a ~ a i nmore completely in Chapter 12. The dijcussion o l acids and bases. inclt~dinghydrolysis. follows the definitions of llrdnsted and the subject i f strong electrolytes is hased upon the concepts of t h e Debye-Hiickel theory. To quote the preface, "the author has emphasized, wherever they could be used t o advantage, current concepts of the structure of atoms and molecules, of the electron theory of valence, of the properties of solutions of electrolytes, of acids and bases, and of other subjects concerning which views have changed during recent years, hut he has tried t o present these views, not alone and apart as the whole story, but as they are related to the views that preceded them." For a book designed for an intermediate level of attainment, the chaoten devoted t o descriotive chemistrv are unusuallv full and c o ~ p l c t e . I n addition to the tradiriaod material, he has included brief desmiptions of the less familiar elemcntr and their compounds. The l,horographs are of recent origin and excellent
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