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K E W BOOKS
These few suggestions, to which more could be added, do not detract from the value of the book, which we should like to see in the hands of all chemists 1%ho wish to rely upon the purity of their chemicals. I. AI. KOLTHOFF.
A C o m m e n t a r y o n the S c i e n t i J f c Vritzngs of J . W i l l a r d Gzbbs. T’ol I , T h e r m o d y n a m t c s . xxiii 742 pp. Vol. 11, Theoretical P h y s i c s . xx 605 pp. Edited by F. G. Donnan and Arthur Haas. S e w Haven: Yale L-niversity Press, 1936. Price:
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$10.00. “These volumes,” in the words of the editors, “have been prepared with a twofold purpose,-to honor the memory of J . Willard Gibbs, and t o meet Ivhat is believed t o be a real need. They are designed t o aid and supplement a careful study of the original text of Gibbs’ writings and not, in any sense, to make such a study unnecessary.” Volume I contains an outline of Gibbs’ lectures on “Thermodynamics” by E. B. Wilson, a presentation (pp. 61-180) of the “General Thermodynamic System” of Gibbs by J. A. V. Butler, “Osmotic and Membrane Equilibria, including Electrochemical Systems” by E. rl. Guggenheim, a paper on various thermodynamic potentials by E. A. Milne, “The Phase Rule and Heterogeneous Equilibrium’’ by G. W. Morey, “Graphic Representation of Equilibria in Binary Systems by LIeans of the Zeta Function” by F. A. H. Schreinemakers, “Equilibrium under the Influence of Gravity” by D. H. Andrew, “Equations of Ideal Gases and Gas Mixtures” by F. G. Keyes, “The Thermodynamics of Strained Elastic Solids” (pp. 395-504) and “Surfaces of Discontinuity” (pp 505-708) by James Rice, and finally “The General Properties of a Perfect Electrochemical Apparatus” by H. S. Harned. Volume I1 consists of the “Thermodynamic Principles as Extended and Perfected by Gibbs” (pp. 1-58) by A. Haas, “Application of Gibbs’ Method to LZodern Problems of Thermodynamics” by Paul S. Epstein, “Gibbs’ Contributions to the Theory of Light” by Leigh Page, “The Contributions of Gibbs t o Vector Analysis” by E. B. Wilson, “Gibbs and the Statistical Conception of Physics” by A . Haas, “The Chief Results of Gibbs’ Statistical Llechanics” by A. Haas, “Special Commentary on Gibbs’ Statistical Mechanics” by A. Haas, “Critical Appreciation of Gibbs’ Statistical Mechanics” by Paul S. Epstein, “Gibbs’ Methods in Quantum Statistics” by Paul S. Epstein, and “Commentary on Gibbs’ Papers on Dynamics” by A Haas. There is a good deal of repetition in the various papers on thermodynamics and in those on statistical mechanics. This repetition n a s more or less unavoidable; in fact, it may serve the useful purpose of making the ideas of Gibbs more readily understood. In any case the two volumes contain a wealth of material sufficient to rejoice the heart and mind of the discerning chemist or physicist. In several papers (notably those by Epstein) the presentation goes beyond thatof Gibbs and takes into account the latest developments. The only serious error that I have noticed occurs on page 22 in Volume 11, in the paper by A . Haas on the thermodynamic principles of Gibbs. The chemical potential of a component of a phase is quite correctly defined as the partial derivative of the energy n i t h respect to the mass of this component, the masses of the remaining components, the total volume, and the total entropy being kept constant. However, it is then erroneously stated that the condition that the total entropy shall he constant is equivalent to the condition that the process considered (viz. an increase in the mass of a certain component of a phase by the addition of some of this substance) shall be carried out adiabatically. F. H . x 4 c 1 i o r c s L I 2 .
