NEW BOOKS Matiere et Energie. BY VICTORHENRI. 436 pp. Paris: Hermann e t Cie, 1933. Price: 110 francs, unbound. The influence of the new molecular physics is constantly felt with increasing and expanding force both by the layman and also within the realms of science itself. It is not a cause for wonder that men of science feel attracted to the subject with such force as often to be impelled to record the results of the new acquisitions in book form, even when in a field in which they may not previously have been actively engaged. That Victor Henri, so well-known for his contributions to spectroscopy and photochemistry, has succeeded in presenting a laudable monograph in molecular physics, there will be no doubt on the part of the reader. He has approached the subject from a charmingly individual and philosophical point of view and maintains throughout a closeness of contact with the other more classical fields of chemistry and physics which convince the reader of the breadth of his grasp of the subject in its entirety. The subjects treated are : the discontinuity of matter-determination of the number of molecules; the chemical elements and the properties common to all elementsRoentgen spectra, atomic number; the periodic system; radioactive elements, isotopes; disintegration and synthesis of elements-their spatial properties in solids and liquids; the kinetic gas theory; the structure of atoms, including a splendid history of the subject from pre-Bohr theories to those of the present time. In the chapter on isotopes an extended table giving the hypothetical constitution of nuclei according to Heisenberg is given and the supposed ratio of neutrons :protons in each species of element. In a work apparently quite free from errors one is surprised to find-in at least two citations-the discovery of the refraction of electrons credited to Davison and Kunsman instead of to Davison and Germer. S. C. LIND. Die Alkalichlorideleklrolyse in Diaphragmzellen. Eine Theoretische und Experimentelle Untersuchung. Part I. BP GOSTAANGEL. 126 pp. Berlin: Verlag Chemie, G. M. B. H., 1933. Price: 12 M. This book, which is divided into four parts, represents a four year investigation on alkali chloride electrolysis in diaphragm cells. The work was carried on in the electrochemical laboratory of the Kgl. Technische Hochschule at Stockholm. Part I (37 pp.). A general review of the subject, including the work of other investigators. A detailed presentation of the theory is made and a number of equations are given for estimating the quantitative relations existing between the rate of flow of sodium chloride, the current flowing, the current yield in sodium hydroxide in per cent, the moles of chloride per liter in the anolyte and catholyte, and the transference number of the cation. This material is clearly presented with the aid of ten curves and seven tables of data. Part I1 (32 pp.) Experimental results. A detailed picture of the experimental cell and analytical methods used is given, together with nine tables of data and three curves. The experimental results served to test the theoretical equations given in Part I. Much careful work was done and good agreement with the theory mas found.
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Part I11 (24 pp.) . Eleven tables and nine curves are used to present the properties of the sodium chloride and sodium hydroxide solutions giving the specific gravity, the relative viscosity, and specific conductivity of various concentrations of salt solutions a t temperatures from 18°C. t o 70°C. The influence of these variables on cell operation is discussed in considerable detail. Part I V (20 pp.). In this section the author gives equations and data for the electrolysis of potassium chloride solutions. Three curves and seven tables of data are given. The general nature of the equations for potassium chloride is similar to those for sodium chloride, but the quantitative results are somewhat different These differences are carefully defined and clearly explained. This book combines a nice presentation of theory with careful experimental work. The many curves and tables summarize and coordinate the material into a readily usable form which will be of interest not only to scientific workers but also to those engaged in the commercial applications of alkali chloride electrolysis. G. H. MONTILLON. T h e Scientijic Achievements of Sir Humphry Davy. By JOSHUA C. GREGORY, B. Sc., F. 1. C. 12.5 x 19 cm.; vii 144 pp. New York: Oxford University Press, 1930. Price: $2.00. This compact little volume is an exposition of Davy’s experimental and theoretical contributions. Although it does not, like certain other biographies, trace in detail the entire course of Davy’s life, i t does introduce in chronological sequence enough well-chosen biographical material to explain the origin of the great conceptions which developed in Davy’s mind. In his first paper, written at the age of nineteen years, Davy had the temerity t o oppose certain aspects of Lavoisier’s theory of combustion. To explain the light which accompanies rapid combustions, the youthful chemist postulated the existence of phosozygen, a compound of oxygen and light; the accompanying heat he regarded as a “repulsive motion” of particles. The outstanding investigation at Dr. Beddoes’ Pneumatic Institution was the famous study of the physiological properties of nitrous oxide. Readers who have a sense of humor will heartily enjoy the author’s paragraphs on the behavior of Davy’s “patients.” Before discussing Davy’s astonishing electrochemical successes, the author describes the state of consternation which resulted from Nicholson and Carlisle’s decomposition of water with the voltaic pile. T o a contemporary, the evolution of hydrogen and oxygen from separated wires seemed utterly incomprehensible. When the two poles of the battery were placed in separate vessels connected by a siphon, “the oxygen and hydrogen still fizzed off separately When oxygen streamed off a t one wire, the hydrogen with which it had been combined had apparently t o scamper through the siphon to stream off at the other wire.’’ Davy’s experiments led him to a rational explanation of this phenomenon and the isolation of the alkali and alkaline earth metals, Since many properties of the metals could be explained by assuming t h a t they contain hydrogen, Davy pondered over, but did not adopt, a revised phlogiston theory in which this hypothetical principle of flammability was identified with hydrogen. After reading of the difficulties which Davy had to overcome in order t o prove the elementary nature of “oxymuriatic acid,” one readily understands what a revolution in chemical thought is implied in the words L‘chlorine” and “hydrochloric acid.” The paragraphs on the safety-lamp for miners show the lofty side of Davy’s character as he “refused to put ‘four horses’ t o his ‘carriage’ by patenting his invention.” The chapter on Davy and Dalton is an interesting character study. Although Davy
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