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NEW BOOKS
Leitfahiglceitstitrationen und Leitfahigkeitsmessungen. Visuelle und akustische Methoden. By G. JANDER and 0. PFUNDT.25 x 16 cm.; viii 88 pp. Stuttgart: F. Enke Verlag, 1934. Price: unbound, 7.40 RM; bound, 8.80 RM. This book constitutes the second edition of Prof. Jander’s excellent monograph on visual conductometric titrations. Since its appearance, he and his pupils have made several improvements in the technique of these methods, and these are described in the present volume. As its name implies, the new edition has been extended so as to cover the whole field of conductometric analysis, including its technical applications. Coming, as i t does, from the pens of well-known authorities in the field of physicochemical analysis, the volume will be heartily welcomed by physical chemists, analysts, and especially those engaged in many chemical industries. The introduction of satisfactory and accurate visual methods has undoubtedly rendered conductometric methods available in noisy works laboratories, in which the ordinary telephone method cannot be used, and i t is there that Jander’s technique will find ever-increasing adoption. The second half of the book deals with analytical processes. Although, from the purely practical standpoint, the descriptions are adequate, i t is felt that too little attention is given to the principles underlying the procedures, and this is especially the case in the section on acidimetry and alkalimetry, in which no attempt is made t o correlate the shape of the titration graphs with the dissociation constants of acids and bases and the concentrations of the solutions being titrated and their titrants. On titrations themselves, the book can hardly be regarded as exhaustive. H. T. 8. BRITTON.
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CLARK. The Electronic Structure a n d Properties of Matter. By C. H. DOUGLAS 22x 14cm.; xxv 374 pp. London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1934. Price: 21s. This book is the first volume of a Comprehensive Treatise on Atomic and Molecular Structure, of which two further volumes, treating of the fine structure of matter and the interpretation of band spectra, respectively, are in preparation. This volume consists of two parts, a general introduction and a treatment of physical properties and molecular constitution. The general introduction gives a survey of modern views on the Periodic Table, the electronic configuration of atoms, quantum numbers, the transition elements, valency, and the nature of chemical linkages. The treatment is brief, accurate, and reasonably clear, though too condensed to be of much value to the student approaching the subject of electronic structure for the first time. It is a pity that Dr. Clark has not given a fuller and clearer treatment t o this portion, and so made it a very valuable textbook for the university student. The second portion collects a great number of facts which have not been assembled before in a single volume. This section will certainly be of great value. It contains excellent surveys of melting and boiling points, atomic and molecular volumes, atomic and ionic radii, electrical conductivity, magnetic and cohesional properties. The reviewer, though naturally unable to test the accuracy of the whole of a work of this type, has found no errors other than minor misprints. Full references are given to the author’s sources, and their clear and detailed presentation is a valuable feature of the work. The indexes are not so complete. A short examination revealed the absence of the names of Wasastjerna and Kerschbaum from the author index and of permutites (pp. 150, 151), rectification (p. 190), and complex compounds (pp. 225-8) from the subject index. FRANK SHERWOOD TAYLOR.
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