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NEW BOOK8
NEW BOOKS Tables of Physical and Chemical Constants and Some Mathematical Functions. By G. W. KAYEAND T. H. LABY. Ninth edition. 25 x 17 cm.; 181 pp. London, New York, and Toronto: Longmans, Green and Company, 1941. Price: 18 shillings net. The ninth edition of this well-known work has undergone revision in many parts. The inclusion of interesting descriptive matter as well as numerical tables is continued, a n attempt has been made to give an account of the basis of the choice of physical units, consideration is given to the selection of general and atomic constants, and explanatory introductions have been added t o new tables of radioelements and isotopes. The final inspection of the text was made by the Physics Department of the National Physical Laboratory. The handy volume is intended t o be a laboratory companion t o both the advanced student and the research worker and much of its contents have a direct interest in physical chemistry. Although in future editions some sections could with advantage undergo a more thorough and critical revision, with particular attention t o the correlation of interdependent data in separate parts of the work, and fuller use made of recent critical studies of some fields, the volume is certain t o have a well-deserved welcome and will continue the useful part played by former editions. The inclusion of references to books and papers dealing with many parts of the subject is a useful feature. I n practically every case the author and date are given for the constant selected, so that the user is aware of the standing of the figure given. The layout, printing, and paper arc very good. The volume contains much useful information not commonly found in books of tables, as well as the data which could be expected. The book may be cordially recommended. J. R. PARTINGTON. Chemical Analysis. Volume I I , Chromatographic Adsorption: BY HAROLDH. STRAIN. 6 x 9 t in.; x 222 pp.; 37 fig. R’ew York: Interscience Publishers, Inc., 1942. Price: $3.75. Chromatography involves the selective adsorption of constituents from a solution which is passed through a column filled with a suitable adsorbent. I n the past ten years, extensive use has been made of chromatographic adsorption analysis for the detection, isolation, and purification of organic substances which could not be separated easily by other methods. From a physicochemical viewpoint the present book is not of great interest. Reference is made to one paper dealing with the theory of chromatography, but, as the author states in the preface, “major emphasis has been placed upon experimental procedure”. I n this respect the author has done an excellent piece of work. This monograph undoubtedly deserves a place in all laboratories in which natural products and other organic compounds are separated and isolated. The reviewer does not expect that chromatography will play an important r81e in inorganic analysis. The book contains nine chapters: Historical Introduction; Application of Chromatographic Adsorption Methods; Apparatus and Procedure; Adsorbents; Solvents and Eluants; Location of Colorless Adsorbed Substances; Chromatography of Inorganic Compounds; Chromatography of Organic Compounds; Industrial Uses. A bibliography covering forty pages and a n author and a subject index are given a t the end of the book. A very instructive colored frontispiece shows the chromatograms obtained in the separation of carotenes and of xanthophylls. I. M. KOLTHOFF.
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Ezperimental Physical Chemistry. By W. G. PALMER. 321 pp. Cambridge: The University Press, 1941. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1941. Price: $2.75. The exercises in this book have for some time been part of a couree of physical chemistry a t Cambridge University. The chapter headings, in brief, are: (I) gas and vapor densities; ( 8 ) crystallization and the properties of crystals; (3) solutions and solubility; (4) dilute solutions (molecular weights, osmosis, distribution) ; (6) thermochemistry; (6) ionization
