BOOK REV, E
~
t o 35 of the reasons why some fluorides S are ionic while others are covalent. T h i ~ ~
ference on Fluorine Chemistry held in Birmingham University, England, in the summer of 1959. These are thoroughly documented and bring the reader up t o date (into 1958). They are of greatest value to those engaged in researoh in the fields covered hut may be easily understood by all chemists. The topics covered are: (1) Tho Halogen FluoriderTheir Preparation and Uses in Organio Chemistry by W. K. R. Musgrave, Univemity of Durham, England; (2) Transition Metal Fluorides and Their Complexes by A. G. Sharpe, Cambridge University, England; (3) Fluoboric Aoids and Their Derivatives by D. W. A. Sharp, Imperial College, London; (4) The Electrochemical Process for the Synthesis of Fluoroorganic Campounds by J. Burdon and J. C. Tatlow, University of Birmingham, Eneland. ( 5 ) Exhaustive Fluorinations of Or&o'do£s with High-Valency Metallic Fluorides by 1\1. Stacy and J. C. Tatlow. Even though these reviews are very thorough, i t is still possible to detect the nature oi the interest of the authors in the topics. For example, topics 1, 4, and 5 are obviously written by men interested in the synthesis of organic compounds while topics 2 and 3 are written by inorganic chemists. The part of the book which is most likely to be of general interest to teachers of chemistry is the fine discussion by A. G. Sharpe on pages 29
A272
/
Journal of Chemical Education
-~~~~
part of the book goes beyond the hounds of a review. Organic chemists, in general, should be interested in the numerous fluoro-cyclohexanes described by Stacey and Tatlow on pages 176 t o 181. Volume 1 of this series is a fine heginning. Surely all "fluorine chemists" will await future volumes with much interest. H. CADY GEORGE University o j Washington Seallle Washingla Tutorial Querlionr in Organic Chamistry
P. A. Ongley, College of Technology, Birmingham, England. University of London Press Ltd., London, 1959. 276 pp. 14.5 X 22 cm. 21/-. xii The author of this book has compiled a series of questions and problems, partly selected from the examinations of 22 universities in the United Kingdom, to aid a student in the applieatio< and coordination of his knowledge of organic chemistry. These questions, found in the first division of the book, ;tre grouped speoifioally for the various classes of organic compounda. Eaoh group is further subdivided into two sets. Set A contains more elementary concepts and could he answered by students having had a basic course in organic chemistry. Set B is for a more advanced group. I n each set the questions are given in progressive di&xlty and apparently fallow $ (Catinued on page A876)
+
BOOK REVIEWS definite pattern; namely, nomenclature, completion reactions, preparations, distinctions, separations, and problems. Since no desoriptive material is given, a student needs a previous understanding of how to approach these types of problems. The answers for all questions and problems, given in the second section, are brief and in some instances might leave a, weak student uncertain. For example, the type of process, such as oxidation, is given but the actual reagent and oonditions are not mentioned. A third section of the hook contains a summary of the rulcs of nomenclature, a list of trivial namrs with formulas, and
a. list of common named reactions with their conditions and wristions. The nomenclature rules follow those set forth by the Jamal of the Chemical Societv and Geneva convention (no reference is made to I.U.C. or I.U.P.A.C.), and differ slightly from those in Chemical Abslraets. Although this book is primarily a guide to the types of questions and problems to be expected on examinations in the British universities, it has merit in that i t emphasizes the fundamentals and interrelationships of organic chemistry. It should be noted no questions appear on the more rceent theoretical concepts now being introduced into beginning organic chemistry.
BERNARD A. NELSON Wheaton College Wheaton. Illinois
Photochemistry in the Liquid and Solid States
Edited by Lawrence J. Heidt, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Robert S. Livingston, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Eugene nabinouritch, University of Illinois, Urbana, and Farrington Danieb, University of Wisconsin, Madison. John Wilev & Sons. Ine.. New York. 1960. vi $ 174 pp: Fig's. and tablks. 22 X 28.5 cm. $6. This is a collection of papers presented a t a symposium held a t Dedham, M a s sachusetts, September, 1957, which had been arranged by a subcommittee of the National Research Council and the National Academy of Sciences on the photochemical stprage of energy. Most of the papers were published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry. It is unfortunate that the editors did not include the discussions of the papen made a t the meeting. The reviewer had the good fortune to be present and recalls that the discussions were often as interesting as the papers themselves and usuallv dealt with more fundamental cpestions"in photochemistry than did the papers. The editors have summarized the critcria for photochemical reactions which would utilize solar radiation. h'one of these systems discussed a t the meeting, photosynthesis excluded, even approumat? the properties desired. Tho silicon cell is an excellent solar energy converter but it has no electrical storage crtpacit.~. Efficient photochemioxl s,ystems yet to be found could avoid this difficulty. It is not feasible to review all the 25 excellent papers whieh are reprinted in the book. A few general remarks are in order, however. No explanation of the purely photochemiral aspects of phatosynthesis has been prescnted. No explanation of the nature of the latent image in silver halide photography has been presented. Thus, despite the efforts of photachemists, the biggest questions remain unanswered.
GERALD OSTER, Polytechnic Imtitule q f Brooklyn, New I'ork Brookl~~n, The Process of Education
Jerome S . Bmner, Harvard University. Cambridge, Msssschusetts. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1960. xviii 07 pp. 14 X 20.5cm. $2.75.
+
This book makes publio the "sensc of the meeting" from a conference held a t Woods Hole in 1959. It differs from other reports, as the title suggests. This group waa less concerned with content than with process of education. The personnel consisted of 34 men from the fields of science, history, language, psychology, and education. After preliminary sessions for reviewing reports of subject-matter studies (such as the PSSC), the members were distributed into five work groups to examine these topics: Sequence of Curriouhm, Apparatus of Teaching, Motiv~tioian of (Continued n page A282)
A276
/
Journal of Chemical Education
