RECENT BOOKS A MANUALOF BIOCBEMISTRY.I. F. McClendon, Professor of Physiological Chemistry, University of Minnesota Medical School. First edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. New York 381 pp. 58 figs. 15 X 23 cm. $5.00. City, 1934. vii
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This hook is an outgrowth of mimeographed material which has apparently been used in a course in physiological chemistry a t the University of Minnesota for some time. The order followed in this hook is a distinct departure from the conventional arrangement found in recognized texts an physiological chemistry. The greater part of the book concerns itself with elements and compounds of biological importance, with a discussion involving the function and importance of each. The book is divided into six parts. Part I deals with physical chemistry as related t o biology and includes such subjects as colloids, cataly.;is, calorimetry, internal secretions, and ionic equilibria. Part 11, which occupies 42 pages, deals with inorganic elements and compounds. I n Part I11 the organic compounds of biological interest are discussed. Part N is a brief summary of foods, digestion, metabolism, and excretion. Part V is devoted to laboratory directions involving the quantitative determination of important organic and inorganic constituents of biological materials. Part VI is a table of 1000 elements and compounds of importance in biology, giving their molecular weight, melting point, boiling point, density, and solubility in water, alcohol, and ether. In most cases a statement is included giving their occurrence, use, or importance in biology. One of the features of the hook which should prove of value t o the student is the citation of numerous references a t the conclusion of each suhject discumed. One of the things that impresses the reader is the inclusion d much material which is not found in other hooks on physiological chemistry. This is especially noticeable in the section on inorganic elements. The section on iodine and its relation to goiter is especially good. Following the section on the radioactive elements, considerable space is devoted t o radiation, which includes discussions of such subjects a s radio and cosmic rays. The subject of diabetes and insulin is well discussed and many ideas are presented which are not found in other books. The section on laboratory work is quite different from other laboratory guides in physiological chemistry. All the experiments are quantitative in nature, and micro technic is emphasized. Methods are given for the determination of many substances for which methods are not availaple in other hooks. Many of the methods are new. Perhaps the most important criticism that can made of the h w k is the brevity with which many subjects are lspensed with. I n many cases simply the name and the chemical formula of a compound are given. Frequently the discussion of a compound is indefinite and fragmentary and leaves one with the feeling that an enlargement of the discussion would make the information of more value and interest t o the student. For example, on page 277 the following compounds are dispensed with as follows: "Nicotine paralyzes certain nerve ganglia when a highly concentrated solution is applied t o them locally." " C i o p h e n , atophan, is related t o quinine. It has been given t o patients with gout." "Quinine is used t o cure malaria. Its use w a s discovered by South American Indians." On page 29, specific dynamic action of protein is discussed. One is left with the impression that proteins alone have a specific dynamic effect. Mention should be made of the fact that carbohydrates and fats produce a similar effect. On page 287 the following statement is made: "The digestion of meat in the stomach produces some substance which cures pernicious anemia." The writer feels that some other term should be substituted for the ward "cures." To one who is accustomed t o teaching physiological chemistry in the conventional manner it is difficult to see how this h w k
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could replace the excellent texts which are now available. For a more general course in biochemistry i t will he useful. As a reference book it is excellent and should 6nd a place in the library of everyone intemted in the field of biochemistry. A. K. ANDERSON Tas P&NNSYLYANIA STATBCOLLB(IB
STATBCOLLBOB. PBNNSYLYANIA
THE CHEMISTRY OF SOLIDS. C e d H.Desch. National Physical Laboratory. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, N. Y., 1934. 213 pp. 55 figs. 15 X 23 cm. $2.50. This book is the record of the 13th George Fisher Baker Lectureship in Chemistry a t Cornell University. As evidence that i t is well done, your reviewer would point out that it reads like a "real book" and not a t all like a set of lecture notes. After an introduction dealing with the close bond between pure and applied science. Professor Desch takes up in turn the crystalline state, the growth of crystals, and the d e c t of adsorption and environment on the external shapes of crystals. Then follows a chapter an the effect of surface tension on the crystal boundary with special reference t o the "amorphous cement" theory and to the concentration of impurities a t the grain boundaries. A short chapter on etch figures is followed by a discussion on mosaic structure. Still other chapters deal with passivity, corrosion fatigue, diffusion, Widmanstitten figures, martensitic structure, age-hardening, and intermetallic compounds. The book closes with a series of discussions on the possible production of a vitreous phase by defomation. chemical changes in solids. layered lattices. and fiher structure. Students in crystal structure, physical chemistry, and metallurgy will find this hook informative and stimulating. They WHEELER P. DAVEY will find i t worth owning. Tan Perrlrrnvnmn STADC O L L ~ ~ ST*==.Co~~srie,PBNNsYLVrnra
HANDBOOK on CHEMISTRY.Compiled and edited by Norbnl Adolph Langc, Ph.D., Associate Professsr of Organic Chemistry a t Case School of Applied Science. gandhook Publishers, 1265 248 29 pp. Inc., Sandusky, Ohio. 1934. xiv 12.5 X 19.5 cm. $6.00 (special price to students and teachers. S3.W).
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This is not "just another handbook." It has been compiled with specific attention t o its utility t o the chemist and emhodies several features not usually found in hooks of fhis type. I n order of their appearance in the text, one h t finds a useful table of directions for handling and storing hazardous chemicals. Of interest t o the teacher is a novel table of changes in the accepted atomic weights of the elements from 1894 to 1933. The table of physical constants of the elements is unusually complete. It includes such properties as: physical form and color, density, melting point, boiling point, specific heat, latent heat, electrical resistivity, surface tension, thermal expansion, and crystalline form. The tables of physical constants of inorganic and organic compounds contain several novel features. First, they are well crossindexed for those compounds that are commonly known by more than one name. Second, a Beilstein reference is appended for each compound; this serves as a real time-saver in reference work. Third, the practice of stating the solvents used in the crystallization of the respective organic compounds will prove useful. The alkaloids and the glucosides are treated in separate tables, which permits more freedom in the choice of properties tabulated. For example, in the case of the glucosides, their hydrolytic products are riven in addition to the usual ~hvsicalcharacteristics. The analyst \ r i l l he delighted to find a comprchcnsive list of rcagents for use in inorganic analysis, including the literature ref~~~~~
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erences and the sensitivity of each test. He will also find an extensive list of solutions used in inorganic, organic, and biochemical analysis. In the field of thermodynamics and thermochemistry, excellent tables have been compiled. They include specific heats, heats of fusion, heats of formation, and heats of combustion, as well as a list of free energies. In this category, it is noteworthy that the units of the respective constants are clearly defined. Indeed, a clear definition of units and statements of the sources of data are characteristic of this handbwk throughout. A section of the book is devoted to definitions of pharmaceutical terms and preparations. The appendix contains what appears t o be a well-chosen list of mathematical tables and formulas. This handbook is highly recommended, especially to those who do not have easy access t o monographs and other types of specialized literature in chemistry and its allied sciences. R. LEGAULT T R 8 U m B P S I T I OW CHICAW
CHIC*.^, ILLINOIS
E X P E R I ~ N T APHYSICAL L CHEMISTRY.Professors Farrington Dan& and J. H m r d Mathews and Associate Professor John Warren WiUiams, all of the University of Wisconsin. Second edition. McGraw-Hill Book Company. Inc., New York City. 1934. xix 499 pp. I40 figs. 14 X 20.5 cm. $3.50.
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T o attempt a revision of this well-known and excellent work within five years is somewhat akin to gilding the lily. Nevertheless, a real improvement can be noted. The b w k has been largely rewritten. Sixteen experiments have been omitted and nine added. Several others have been modified with a view to increased accuracy. The correlation between the first and second editions in the matter of omissions, additions, and modifications is set forth in a compact table. The book has been enlarged by the addition of twenty-four pages. The chapter on the electrochemistry of gases has been omitted and that on electrotitrations has been condensed into the chapter on electrochemistry. Excellent chapters on errors and on vacuum tubes have been added. One wishes some of the omitted material might have been retained, such as the studies on ozone and nitrogen peroxide production. Particularly t o be commended is the addition of material on the glass electrode, several quantitative colloid experiments, a study on heavy water, and an improved treatment of capacitance measurements. Experiment 56 on the determination of heat of reaction by E.M.F.measurements remains essentially unchanged. I t seems that this experiment might be improved by using two-phase amalgams rather than solid metal electrodes. I t is unfortunate that an experiment on the moving bouedary method for determininn transference numbers has not been included. Some simple modification of IlacImei' precision apruratus should afford satisfactory results. (See L. G. L o z c s w u ~ rT~m , s JOLTNAL. 11, page 420.) The plan of the book remains the same. There are three main sectians-laboratory experiments, apparatus, and miscellaneous operations. Each experiment is discussed as follows: theory, apparatus, procedure, calculations, practical applications, suggestions for further work, and references. Throughout the whole book, in fact, there is an abundance of literature references, mostly of recent date. Necessary tables, including logarithms. are present. The book is very well written and the format excellent. T o sum up, this work should prove indispensable t o the instructor and the advanced student. For undergraduates of reasonable intelligence, background, and initiative, it merits very serious consideration as a working or reference manual of the highest order. The whole aim of the authors is concisely stated in the preface: "As in the first edition, the development of the student has been considered of greater importance than the conMALCOLM M. HARING venience of the, instructor."
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THE FUNDAMENTALS OF CHEMICAL THERMODYNAMICS. PARTI: ELEMENTARY THEORYAND APPLICATIONS.PART11: THERxonYNmcnr. FUNCTIONSAND THEIRAPPLICATIONS.J. A. V. Butler, DSc. (Birmingham). Lecturer in Chemistry in the University of Edinburgh. The Macmillan Company, New York City. Part I. 1928. xi 207 pp. 51 figs. 12 X 19 cm. $3.00. Part 11. 1934. ix 271 pp. 43 figs. 12 X 19 cm. $3.00.
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These two little volumes have been developed by Dr. Butler as the fruit of several years' experience in teaching thermodynamics. I n Part I he has "tried to present the subject in a logically precise, yet simple form, having in mind not only the student who intends t o specialize in Physical Chemistry, but also that class of chemistry students which har only a very moderate knowledge of mathematics and little sympathy with mathematical methods." There are nine chapten, dealing with: the &st law, the second law, changes of state, solutions, homogeneous gaseous reactions. the galvanic cell. electrode potentials, concentration cells and activities, and electrolysis. The treatment is fairly elementary in character but presupposes an acquaintance with the elements of calculus. Thus the second law is discussed with emphasis an "maximum work" and without reference to the concept of entropy. Most of the derivations, such as that of the Clausius equation, are based on cyclic processes. The notation employed is largely that of Lewis and Randall. Part I1 represents a more advanced treatment of the subject, obviously for students who are specializing in physical chemistry. It has been developed for a second course, designed to follow that using Part I. This volume, however, is "tolerably complete in itself and could be read by anyone who has an elementary knowledge of the laws of thermodynamics." It contains eleven chapters, dealing with: the thermodynamical functions (including entropy), the thermodynamics of perfect gases, the third law, applications t o solutions (six chapters), the thermodynamics of surfaces, and the phase rule. The developments are carried through by the use of the "functional" or Gibbsian method, which has been popularized in recent years by Lewis and Randall's Thermodynamics. On the whole, the two volumes are well mitten and the subject matter has been judiciously selected. Throughout both parts the applications of thermodynamics to chemical problems have been duly emphasized. A number of numerical examples. especially in Part I, are presented and solved in the text. These and the problem sets, placed a t the end of most of the chapters, contribute much t o the value of these hooks for teaching purposes. Another strong feature of Part I1 is that the discussions have in many cases been carried right up t o the developments of the present year. However, Chapter 111on the third law of themodynamics constitutes an exception t o this statement: unfortunately here the developments practically cease with the year 1926 and several of the entropy values in Table 111 (page 44) should now be revised for precise calculations. Inevitably a few errors, typographical and otherwise, have also crept into Part 11. The reviewer was shocked to find plus signs before the term pdv in the equations on pages 19 and 20, where obviously subtraction is called for. The same error ap-pea= in equations 50 and 52 on page 26. The treatment of pages 20&210 in the chapter on the thermodynamics of surfaces is also rather unsatisfactory, and equation 223 (p. 210) is incorrect. All things considered, however, Dr. Butler must be congratulated on his preparation of two very teachable little books. The first in particular will prove very attractive t o many college teachers who desire to present t o their physical chemistry students a brief introduction t o chemical thermodynamics without the use of entropy. Whether or not, in a more advanced course. a rather small volume like Part I1 is preferable t o such an excellent and authoritative treatise as that of Lewis and Randall remains a question for the individual teacher. GEORGES. PARKS
