APRIL, 1950
229
of polymers, and the standnrdiantion and testing of polymer properties. The remainder of the book, 12 chapters covering 179 pages, deals principally with descriptive material on the manufacture, properties, and applications of polymers related to various raw materials-cellulose, proteins, natural and synthetic rubbers, ethylene, eto. A chapter on the processing of polymers and one entit.led Economic Aspects are also included. I t is obviously impossible to encompass with thoroughness such an ambitious outline in a. book as small as this one. The treae ment of t,heoretical problems, though highly condensed, is stimulating and effective. The reader may wish thst the author had expanded this portion of the book and limited the content of this volume to correspond more nearly to the title. It. is true, however, that with the brief treatment of each tapir appropriate references are given to other boole and articles for more complete information. The chapters which deal with part,icular classes of polymers generally provide little more than an outline of each subject. The chapt,er on Synthetic Rubbers covers 23 pages, that entitled Polymers Based on Ethylene and its Derivatives likewise extends for 23 pages; but the chapter on Silicones is limited to 4 pages, Alkyd Resins and Other Polyesters are treated in 4 pages, and only 5 lines of text are given to polyvinyl ethers. In the opinion of this reviewer, what is presented is excellently done within the limitations indicated. This book can be recammended to persons already somewhat familiar-with the iicienee of polymers as an intensive and sound survey of the field nrhieh providesa, consistent framework far the suhject material. HARVEY A. NEVILLE
QUALITATIVE AND VOLUMETRIC ANALYSIS
0
I. C.Giblin, Member of the Society of Puhlic Analysis and Other Analytical Chemists. Senior Chemistry Master, Royal Grammar School, Worcester, England. Longmans, Green and Co., New York, 1948. xiii 175 pp. 12.5 X 18.5 cm. $1.60.
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TREobject of this book, as stated in the preface, by the British author, is "to provide a complete course in Qualitative and Volumetric Analysis. I t should also satisfy the requirements of first and second year University students and those preparing for professional examinations suoh its the 1st M.B." The material in this volume is presented in four parts. Part 1, 31 pages, covers the qualitative analysis of simple salts and easy mixtures, including dry reactions, dissolving, and wet tests for 23 metals and 26 acid radicals. Part 2, 29 pages, deals with the qualitative analysis of more difficult mixtures, including two or more metals in the same group. Of this, some 14 pages are d+ voted to an explanation of the tables for group procedures. Part 3,20pages, treats of organio reagents for metalsand acid rrrdicals. Part 4,86 pages, is devoted to volumetric analysis. Here are included a. total of 60 experiments: 12 covering acids and alkalies; oxidation, (a)KMnOl, 11 expts., (6)K.Cr2O1, 6 expts., (c) iodine, .I4expts., ( d ) bromine, 2 expts., (e) ceric sulfate, 2 expts.; reduction, titanoussulfate, 2expts.;precipitation processes (a)AgN08, 6 expts., ( b ) K&'e(CN). 1expt., (c) BaCL, 1expt.,(d) UOdCnHaOdn, 1 expt.; and miscellaneous reactions, 2 expts. There is a short table of solubility products (p. 47), a. table of atomic weights, and a four-place table of lags and intilogs, but there are no tables of ionization constants or oxidation potentials, and the book has no
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inaKK .... ..
Ullviouslv, the book husvovrreda large la~ryeofn~atrrial,hut i r is equally ohvious t h t the rlemiption of quulitntire pmrcdurr.; is very brief nnd rhc tyvr of rhrowrical nmtwi.tl to which wr nrc accustomed in this country is almost wholly missing. I t is difficultto see how this hookcould be usedas a text for such courses a s we are accustomed to in this country, and yet for the student who has ample time to experiment for himself, the exercises outlined here would provide a real grasp of the laboratory
side of much of classical, analytical chemistry. With such a background, there should be little trouble in adding t,he theory in a regular course in physical chemistry. This, of course, reverses our practice which has involved a definite shift toward using the laboratory largely to exemplify the theoretied material being presented in class. However, one cannot help wondering occ; sionally, whether our method doesn't actually fail to make the student realize that chemistrv is still an exoerimental science and that accurate experimenGl data are still df fundamental importance in advancing the science. R. K. MCALPINE
INTRODUCTION TO SEMIMICRO QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS
C. H. Sorum, Professor of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. Prentice-Hall, Inc., New York, 1949. ix 196 pp. 6 figs. 3 tables. 14.5 X 21.5 cm. $2.
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TEE book is well suited to the purpose for vhich it is intended. It is written for the second half of a course in which both general freshman chemistry and qualitative analysis must he compressed into a one-yesr course. Dr. SON^ succeeds very well in his attempt to present the material in suoh a way that it should be easily understandshle hy students who have had no more than one-half year of general chemistry. The book should he successful in leading the students through the accepted routine of qualitative analysis and of providing them with adequate understsndmg of the particular reactions involved. The book of necessity cannot,, of course, mention the occurrence, general properties, or importanre to mankind of the materials encountered. In the preface Dr. Sorum states, "Only 21 metals and 13 acids are considered. Furthermore only those aspects of the chemistry of the cations and anions which have direct bearing on the behavior of these cations and anions in tho course of their separation and identification are presented. As a consequence, the content of the manual can be completed in one semester." Those teachers who wish to give a brief course in semimicro qualitative analysis and who can have centrifuges available will do well t,o consider Dr. Sorum's book. RAY WOODRIFF
0
CHEMICAL ACTIVITIES OF FUNGI
Jackson W. Foster, Professor of Bacteriology, University of Texas, Austin, Texas. Academic Press, Inc., Publishers, New 648 pp. 35 figs. 55 tables. 16 X '24 em. York, 1949. rviii
$9.50.
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INTHE "Chemical Activities of Fungi" we have at long last a volume to fit the needs of the teacher and the student of the "new," physiological mycology. Here are brought together in an authoritative manner, critically evaluated, the basic as well as the more modem developments in the rapidly expanding field of mold metabolism. Best of all, Foster's historical approach to the topics under consideration and his careful step-by-step development of them enables even the novice to follow the main arguments with comparative ease. Furthermore, the author a t all times takes pains to orient the reader so that he grasps the larger significance of the special process under consideration. After a brief preface there is an introductory chapter which deals with the historical development and with recent aspects of investigations in mold metabolism. Such modern developments as molds as agents of chemical synthesis, of dissimiletion, as physiological models are discussed. Also considered here are the cantributiom of mold betabolism to methods, the role of molds in natural processes, biochemical syntheses, the use of fungi as
230
JOURNAL O F CHEMICAL EDUCATION
analytical ttools, and the modern industrial applications of mold metabolism. There are then chapters on the methodology of mold metabolism, the chemical nature of the mycelium, and a general consideration of mold metabolism. A chapter on natural variation is followed by an excellent and comprehensive survey of modern work on mutations, physiological genetics, and biochemical syntheses in fungi. Here are discussed such topics as the induction of mutations by chemical and physical means and the techniques and results of the elaasieal biochemical-genetical investigations on Neu~mporaby Beadle, et al. Subsequent chapters deal with trace element nutrition of fungi, the production of well-known organic acids (lactic, oxdic, fumasic, citric, itaconic, kojic, ete.), and the production of carbohydrates. Chapter 18 describes a miscellaneous group of fungus activities such s~ sulfur and chlorine metabolism, the oxidation of long-chain saturated fatty acids, etc. The book closes with an extraordinarily informative chapter on the microbiological aspects of penicillin, its history, and methods of prw duction, which could have been written only by one with a background of experience in modern industrial myoologj such as the author obviously possesses. This chapter closes as do a11 the others with a bibliography. Author and subject indexes are appended. The present reviewer is no biochemist of fungi. As a. mycologist, however, he e m quite readily evaluate the accuracy and clarity of presentation of the less speoialieed aspects of the material covered. It is his opinion that we have in Foster's volume by fru the most comprehensive and modern treatment of mold metabolism that has yet appeared.
F. E. SPARROW U ~ B R BOFI M~ C C B ~ A N A m ABBOB, M I C B I ~ A N
ORGANIC COATINGS IN THEORY AND PRACTICE A. V. Blom, Consulting Chemist, Zurich. Elsevier Publishing Company, Inc., New Yolk, 1949. x 298 pp. 121 figs. 82 tables. 16.5 X 25.5 cm. $4.75.
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THIS book is the sixth in the Elsevier's Polymer Series. I t proposes to outline the principal facts and theories of orgsnic coating science in the light of developments in the last two decades. The close relationship of this subject to the science of plastics is made apparent throughout this book since the presence or formation of ma.cromolecules is essential to the mechanical requirements for both plastics and coatings, and the eame basic materials may generally be utilized in both applications. Chapter I of this volume is entitled Fundamental Considerations and includes excellent discussions of plastioiaing action and the process of film farmstian. The next two chapters provide surveys of natural and synthetic am-forming materials. Chapter IV treats of a m formatmn by the physical processes of evaporation and congeletion; in Chapter V chemical film formation is discussed; pigments and their relstionships to vehicles are the subject of Chapter VI; the fmal chapter (VII) is concerned with film properties and their testing. The presentation of theory in this book includes many significant genereliaations supported by appropriate literature references, and numerous pertinent conclusions based upon the author's own research and experience. The treatment of the more practical aspects of coatings, though necessarily abbreviated in details, is genedly adequate for a broad survey of the subject. It is apparent that the author is familiar with both the American and the European literature and practice in the field of protective coatings. I t is probable that this book can add considerably to the basic knowledge and understanding of even the well-informed reader in this field. It is not, however, a'satisfactory reference hook on specific materials, and the subject index fails in many
instances to reveal those factual details which are included. For example, there is no entry for Vinyl- or Polyvinyl- in the subjeot index although a section of 17 pages in Chapter I11 is entitled Vinyl- and Allied Copolymers and these materials are also referred to in other portions of the text. Likewise, Styrene and Polystyrene are not found in this index but are frequently mentioned throughout the book. H. A.
NEVILLE
Lsmaa UNIYERB~TX B E T ~ G E ~ P~al*amv*m* EM.
SEMIMICRO QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS: HYDROGEN SULFIDE SYSTEM
A NON
Jacob Cornog, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, State University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa. Herman T. Briscoe, Editor. Houghton Mifflin Co., Park Street, Boston, Massachusetts, 1948. xi 259 pp. 27 figs. S tables. 17 X 24 em. $3.
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IT IS refreshing and inspiring to thc teid~cr,at l e ~ s t to , see 3 new book which docs not follow the generally accepted yroecdure
of snalydia. I)r. Cornog's book departs considerably from the ordinary scheme of analysis. The groupsareas follows:
1. Chloride &up, precipitated by HCI, contains PbCL, AgCI, and HgCI. 2. Sulfide group, precipihted by (NH&S in acetate-acetic acid buffered solution. contains' HgS, Bi&, FeS, CuS, CoS, NiS, CdS, PbS, ZnS, As&, Sb& and SnS. 3. Oxalate group, precipitated by NH'HC20d and HISO, gives BaSO, and CaGO,. 4. Phosphate group, precipitated by HaPo, and NH,OH, gives Mna(P04)2,MgNH,PO,, AIPO,, and CrPOc 5. Soluble group containsNIt+, K+, and NaC. Separationswithin the groupsare, by andlarge, thoseordinarily used, but the different grouping of the elements throws an entirely different light on many problems. The autbor states: "The system described in this book has been used by hundreds of students in widely separated places over a period of years. Over-all results are a t least equal to those obtained with the Fresenius (H9S) system. Large laboratories are fumefree, and hydrogen sulfide generators are eliminated!' The book is apparently intended for students who have had about onehalf year of general chemistry. The book is wire bound with paper leaves. Most students probably prefer such a binding when the saving is passed on to them. The first 51 pages are devoted to laboratory exercises. There are blanks to fill out a t the end of each exercise. The next 16 pages give directions for preparation of samples and analysis of cations. Alternative procedures are given to provide for 6 or 13 anions. A section of 77 pages dealing with such topics as exponential numbers, ionic equilibria, and the bdancing of osidation-reduction equations precedes the appendix and index. Whether or not this system will replace the H2S system only time will tell. RAY WOODRIFF
MON**N* BT*TE CO~LEB. Boenrw, MONTANA
A SOURCE BOOK IN GBEEK SCIENCE Mom& R. Cohen, Late Pxofessor of Philosophy, College of the City of New York, and I. E. Drabkin, Department of Mathematics, College of the City of New York. McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1948. xxi 579 pp. 141figs. 23 X 16 cm. $9.
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THISis the latest volume to annem of the now well-known series f Sciences under the general of Source Books in the ~ i s t o r y o the editorship of Gregory D. Waleott. The previous anthologies of
