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JOURNAL O F CHEMICAL EDUCATION
ogy and another in chemistry and a list of equipment for general science. Teachertraininginstitutions willwelcome thisbookwith its additional problems and projects and selected references. It ia indeed a bookm science teaching GRETA OPPE
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THE CHEMISTRY OF ACETYLENE
Julius A. Nieuwland, Late Professor of Chemistry, University of Notre Dame, and Richard R. Vagt, Professor of Chemistry, University of Notre Dame. Reinhold Publishing Corporation, New 219 pp. 15 X 23.5 cm. $4.00. York, 1945. xi
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THIS99th of the A. C. 6. monograph series is a fitting tribute to Father Nieuwland and his pioneering work in the field of acetylene chemistry. The book is an exhaustive bibliography of the work of more than a thousand men in the field and contains severd hundreds of references to papers and the patent literature. Unfortunatelv. .. due to delays in completion and ~ublicationof the o& be consi;leredcompleteto work, the literature ,"=.a
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in most, when the authors In monoeaph, as reporting work of their own, the picture is detailed and discriminating. it is in a to which they have liot directly contributed, e. g., addition of nonmetallic elements and compounds (except acetals) to acetylene, statements are made less positively. In such cases the work of other men and the literature is cited without evaluation. The present writer does not mean to imply that it can be otherwise. An adeqnate author and subject index is included.
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aus, consecutive, reverse and complex reactions, integral conversion equations for nonflow and flaw reactions, space velocity, reactions of comnlex order. chain reactions. internretatition of lahooptimum reactor design, equivalent reactor volume, severity factors, prediction of entropy, and enthalpy of activation. Indeed, a masterly combination of physical chemistry and chemical engineering! Similar treatment is given in the other four chapters. Numerous illustrated examples are used throughout the book, 29 such problems are used in this part to illustrate the principles discussed. Many of the examples are taken from the published papers of the two authora who hrtvecontributedextensivelyto this field. These have been largely in the field of gas-phase reectians and explain the emphasis on this part of the broad subject of kinetics. A wider selection of illustrative material and problems would be desirable, but can well await a later revision. Certainly, the chemical engineer who masters the material given here can accept the challenge of any kinetics problem. The treatment of catalysis is strictly from the viewpoint of its mechanism in relation to the kinetics of the process. A number of chemical engineering departments have endeavored to train their students in this field with courses on engineerinp kinetics or process rates. This book is essential for all such C O & ~ S and will lead to the establishment of similar courses in other departments. A chemical engineer must be able to predict the of process variables on yields as well as the of operational variables on heat transfer and other unit operations involved. This book, like the other two parts, does an invaluable service in broadening and rounding out the training of the chemical engineer. Every physioal chemist should have the three parts of "Chemical Process Principles" to learn what the chemical engineer does with his physical chemistry. KENNETH A. KOBE
LEALLYN B. CLAPP
UNIVERBLTT 01 T E X A S
BROWN UKIVE~~STT P~OMDENC RB ~ . D IBLIND B
A o ~ N TEXAS .
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CHEMICAL PROCESS PRINCIPLES. Part 111: Kinetios and Catalysis Olaf A. Hougen a n d Kenneth M. Watson, professors of chemical engineering, University of Wisconsin. John Wiley 303 pp. 64 figs. and Sons, Inc., New York, 1947. xlviii 14 X 22 cm. 54.50.
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AND WATSON in 1931 published "Industrial Chemical HOUCEN Caldations," which was rearranged and rewritten in the second edition of 1936. This t,ext was widely adopted in chemical engineering for courses in technical calculations covering stoichiometry, material and heat balances, and the appliorttions of physical chemistry. This material has again been rewritten entirely a t a somewhat more advanced level, renamed "Chemical Process Prinoiples," andissued in three separate parts. Part I covers Material and Energy Balances, Part I1 covers Thermodynamics, and Part 111 covers Kinetics and Crttdysis. The pagination is continuous throughout the three parts so that Part 111contains pages 805 to 1107, a i d chapters 18 22. The author and subjectindex is for all three parts. The five chapters in Part 111 cover homogeneous rertctions, 97 pages; catalytic reactions, 71 pages; miss and heat trsnsfer in catalytic beds, 36 pages; catalytic reactor designs, 42 pages; anduncatalyzed heterogeneous reactions, 57 pages. The subheads in the chapter on homogeneohs reactions are indicative of the way in which the fundamental physical chemistry has been combined with the practical chemicalengineering to give a presentation that is rigorous and a t the same time immediately annlicable to the nrablems the chemical eneineer faces in desiening n renctrw or pwdicting its produ~.ririr)-uudcr changed con litions. T h e imlamaut ~ublwndsme: l h w y o i absolute rcncticn m:r. .\rrl.enius e luutio~..difiweutial rate cqualinns. sinwltnne-
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WATERBURY'S HANDBOOK OF ENGINEERINGWITH TABLES
H. W. Reddick, W. M. Lansford, C. 0. Mackey, H. H. Higbie, a n d H. S. Bull. Fourth edition. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 386 pp. 126 figs. 7.5 X 14 cm. New Yark, 1947. xix 52.50.
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Tnrs VEST-POCKET handbook gives important equations in mathematics, mechanics, hydraulics, hest engineering, and electrical engineering. Its 113 pages of tables cover logrtrithm, trigonometricfunctions, and the steam tables. The engineer who desires a handbook which by test willactually fit ins. vest pocket will find this bookexcellent. KENNETH A. KOBE
Umvsssm
Tnus Ausnx. TEXAS OP
SOILLESS GROWTH OF PLANTS Carleton Ellis a n d M. W. Swaney. Second edition. Revised and enlarged by Tom Eastwood, alericulturist, Lago Oil and Transport Co., Ltd., Aruba, Curacao, N. W. I. Reinhold Publishing Corp., New York, 1947. x 277 pp. $4.75.
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During the nine years that have elapsed since the 6rst printing of this book considerable oommercial experience has been ohtained in soilless culture of various crops. Some of these developments came out of the work of Tom Eastwood as he worked the field of hydroponics on the islands of Aruba and Curacao of the Netherlands West Indies. This work was instituted on Aruba, a barren island, by the Lsgo Oil and Transport Company, Ltd., s subsidiary of Standard Oil of New Jersey, in an effort to supply their personnel withgreenvegetables. The ShellOilCompsnyalso
