Boorse, Henry A.; Motz, Lloyd; eds. - ACS Publications - American

The world of the atom. Volumes 1 and 2 (Boorse, Henry A.; Motz, Lloyd; eds.) J. J. Lagowski. J. Chem. Educ. , 1967, 44 (2), p A154. DOI: 10.1021/ed044...
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BOOK REVIEWS of the latter is not extensive in early chapters, although the first differential appears in the text an p. 38 and the first integral in a problem on p. 52. The hook begins with two short chapters an Evidence for the Existence of Atoms and Molecules and Determination of Atomic and Molecular Weights, both of which are extremely well done. Their purpose is not only to plug holes that may have been left in the student's earlier study, but also to make him realize again the justification of his probably almost subliminal faith in atoms, electrons, nuclei and even neutrinos. The reviewer shares the authors' concern for this essential element of basic education, and suspects that most readers of TAIS JOUIINAL feel the same way. The student is then led through discussions of atomic structure, molecular constitution, crystals and gases. As one might have expected from the senior author, the chapter on molecular properties including dipole moment is outstanding. The laws of thermodynamics, whioh in many texts appesr almost at the first move of the game, are denied formal entry until the tenth chapter (p. 246),where heat is defined and heat capacities of gases and crystals are related to the stn~cturalprinciples and elementary kinetic theory of earlier pages. Such placement of the thermodynamics has many followers, for it not only defers heavy use of calculus, as mentioned before, hut also permits concrete illustrations of thermodynamic properties in terms of the molecular and kinetic principles given earlier. The latter half of the book then treats classical physical chemistry, including much on the msss action lttw. whioh will preromably not have Iwen mwered in the student's previuus vu rrses. The electruvhemistry is par~ivularlywdl dune. The problems are well chosen and seldom trivial. I don't know how to convey in concrete terms the general character and degree of excellence, call it flavor, of a textbook a t this level. You have to read it and decide how much sense the words make to you, to potential students, and to the writers themselves. This hook leaves me with no doubt that the authors (even if I lacked confirmation through personal acquaintance) know their stuff so well that they can tell and teach effectively. ~

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WIY~ERH. STOCKM.IYER Davtmouth College Hanmer, New Hampshzre

The World of ihe Alom. Volumes 1 and 2

Edited by Henry A. Boorse and Lloyd Molz. Basic Books, Inc., New York, 1966. Figs. and tables. 16 X 24 cm. Volume 1, xxvi 859 pp. Volume 2, xx 1014pp. $35 theset.

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I n the words of the preface to this twovolume work, "The World of the Alom (Continued on page A1681

A154

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Journal of Chemical Education

BOOK REVIEWS

presents the actual texts of the landmark documents in the history of atomic physics!' The original papers, all in English or translated into English, are presented in chronological order and each forms the basis of a chapter; each chapter is intmduced by a well-written and interesting commentary on its contents, supplied by the editors, and contains biographicsl material on the author(s) of the paper. The papers included in these two volumes were chosen because they represent signiicant contributions to our present understanding of the nature of matter. The chronological order of presentation often requires the introduction of ideas on subjects that, at the time, have no apparent relevanee to contemporary work, hut the scientifically mature reader will recognize and appreciate the appearance of ideas "before their time." Generally, editors who must select papers for inclusion in an anthology must be prepsred to defend their choices; however, in the opinion of the reviewer, only the most provincial reader could seriously question the choice of Dsoers nresented in these vchrnws. I n $d&tion,'the editon are at thisanthology pains w pointout that" represents documents that are abmlutely necessary for the history of atomic science, hut it is not sujickl for such a history!'

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A158 / lournol of Chemical Educofion

The 96 chapters are divided into 16 sections, being grouped in terms of either h i r i c d association and/or conceptual relationships. The section titles and the authors of the papers included in each section are, The Foundations of Atomic Theory (Lucretius, Descartes, Boyle, Hooke, Huygens, Newton, Bernatfi, Boscovitch, B. and W. Higgins); The Foundations of Atomic Chemistry (Dalton, Gay-Lusmc, Avogadro, Prout); The Foundations of the Iiinetic Theory of Matter (Herapatb, Bmwn, Waterston, Joule, Mrtxwell); New Confirmation of Chemical Atomic Theory (Canniazsro, Mendeliev); Beyond the Atom (Faraday, Maxwell, Crookes, Balmer, Miohelson, Morley); The Beginnings of Modern Atomic Physics (Roentgen, Becquerel, Thomson, P. and M. S. Curie, Rutherford, Villmi, Soddy, Planek, Kaufmann, Lorentz, Einstein); New Ideas and New Measurements (Thomson, Perrin, Rutherford, Mullikan); Two Far-Reaching Discoveries (Hess, Wilson); The Nuclear Atom (Geiger, Marsden, Rotherford, Bohr, Franck, Hertz, Soddy, Thornson, Aston); X-Rays and their Contribution to the Riddle of Matter (L. von Laue, Freidrick, Knipping, W. H. and W. L. Bragg, van der Broek); Atomic Theory Develops (Moseley, Einstein, Compton, Stem, Gerlach, Goudsmet, Uhlenheck, Pauli, Raman, Bose); Wave Mechanics (Hamilton, deBroglie, Schroedinger, Born, Heisenberg, Garnow, Davidson, Thomson, Diiac, Oppenheimer, Bohr); New Parti-

cles and Atomic Accelerators (Anderson, Urey, Chadwick, Fenni, Cockcmft, Walton, van der G r a d , Lawrence, Livingston, J. and I. C. Joliot, Yukuwa); Newer Developments in Atomic and Nuclear Theory (Powell, Segrh, Chamberlain, Rahi, Lamb, Kusch, Bethe, Schwinger, Feynman, Jensen, Libby); Nuclear R e actions and Nuclear Energy (Heisenberg, Bethe, Meitner, Frisch, Bohr, Fermi, Titterton); HigherEnergy Physics (Yang, Lee, Hofstadter, Weisskopf). In addition, the last chapter contains a good historical survey of elementary particles by the editors. Unfortunately, the very fact that the editors have attempted to make each section reasonably comprehensive necesnarily leads to an expensive product which will probably relegate these volumes to the reference shelves of institutional libraries rather than to private libraries. The material contained in these volumes could he used to advantage by students at all levels of achievement in collegm and universities, with the more scient&AJy mature student receiving the most benefit. Indeed, a periodic rereading of many of the sections in the light of new personal knowledge would probably he profitable to most scientists.

J. J. LAGOWSKJ University qf Tezas Austin (Continued on pare AiBB)