1032 Inwguuic Chemistry. By Mi. S O R T O S JOKES, JH. 817 p p Philadelphia. Pa. : The Blakiston Company, 1947. Price: $4.25. This book is another addition to the already overcrowded field of general inorganic chemistry texts for the beginning college courses. However, there are a number of features about the book that warrant its publication. .4fter a brief introduction and a short discussion of the varieties of matter and of measurement aid calculation, the reader is introdured t o the structure of the atom and then the relation of chemical change to atomic structure. I‘ollpwing this is the chapter on the periodic relation of the elenlents. 111 all subsequent descriptive chapters constant reference is made t o atomic structure and periodic relationships, and the chemical and physical behavior of each new element or family of elenients is discussed in the light of electronic structure, and interrelationships arc pointed out, This treatment, for example, certainly gives a clearer and more concrete picture of the number of bonds or valence of an element than the time-honored nebulous definition, “The measure of the combining power of a n atom.” I t is the reviewer’s firm conviction that a real uuderstvnding of the properties and reactions of the elements and their compounds, mass relationships, theory of acids and bases, etc., can only be obtained by a clear conception of simple atomic structure and electronic configuratioi1,-certainly not froin memory. Except when the more modern theories and laws have had a direct and logical evolution, all historical matter has been omitted. Many times the course of chemical history has been so meandering that it has served only to confuse rather than to clarify. However, in order not to ignore this phase of the subject completely, the book is liberally interspersed with photographs of outstanding scientists, accompanied by brief sketches of their lives and contributions. The chapters are fairly standard, although they have been thoroughly shuffled t o give a different order of presentation. I n the early descriptive chapters, the individual elements in the third period are discussed separately, without reference to other members of their family. The latter part of the book then deals with the periodic groups in the standard way. This throws the two elements hydrogen and oxygen, generally introduced first, into chapters 23 and 25, respectively. Several minor lapses occur in the text: e.g., on page 93, in treating the ionization potential, the statement is made that sodium has the lowest ionizing potential of the elements of period three, whereas on page 251 the statement is made that the 31 electron is removed from the atom (of aluminum) more easily than the 30 electron of sodium. On page 64 the author states “ oxidation is now considered t o be any process by which the valence of a n atom is increased.” Obviously, he means positive valence. At the end of each chapter references are given t o collateral reading, including such magazines as Life, Fortune, and Popular Science. Forty-nine pages of questions and problems-all without answers-are appended. Physically, the make-up of the book is good. It is “bound in high grade materials which are sturdy, vermin-proof, and water resisting.” T. D. O’BRIEN.
Kinetic Theory of Liquids. By .J. FRENKEL, Physico-technical Institute, Leningrad. 488 pp. London: Oxford University Press, 1946. Price: $13.00. xi This excellent book by Professor Frenkel should be welcomed by all chemists and physicists who are interested in modern theories of matter in a condensed state and mrho will appreciate a critical discussion of the subject in a volume of moderate compass. I n spite of the restrictive title of the treatise, the author devotes a considerable portion of the treatment t o matter in the crystalline state. A list of the chapter headings will perhaps best serve to indicate the main topics treated by the author. These headings are: Real Crystals at Elevated Temperatures; Perturbation of Alternation and Orientation Order in Mixed and Molecular Crystals; Properties of
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Liquids and Mechanism of Fusion; Heat Motion in Liquids and their Mechanical Properties; Orientation and Rotational Motion of Molecules in Liquid Bodies; Surface and Allied Phenomena; Kinetics of Phase Transitions; Properties of Solutions; and High Polymeric Substances, F. H. MACDOUGALL.
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Inorganic Syntheses. Vol. 11. Edited by W. C. FERSELIUS. xii 293 pp. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1946. Price: $4.00. The second volume of Inorganic Syntheses follows the general pattern established by the first, but several marked improvements have been introduced. Methods of synthesizing eighty-one varied compounds are presented, the list including some relatively simple substances, such as barium bromate and nitric oxide, as well as such complex materials as triammonium imidodisulfate and ,dichloro-bis-ethylenediamine-cobaltic chloride. Relatively large amounts of space are devoted to the separation and purification of rare earth materials (33 pages) and to derivatives of the less common acids of sulfur (24 pages). The directions for all of the preparations have been made as specific as possible, and each synthesis has been checked by a t least one independent investigator to insure the workability of the procedures and the elimination of directions which might be misinterpreted. In addition to the experimental part, the volume contains articles on the properties of several of the important types of inorganic compounds for which methods of preparation are given. Tbese include the metal derivatives of the 1,3-diketones, compounds of the rare earths, and the metal carbonyls. The nomenclature and indexing used in Volume I have been greatly improved in Volume 11, and the book contains a short but excellent article (by Miss Janet D. Scott) on the nomenclature of inorganic compounds. The index is cumulative for both volumes. The series of volumes on inorganic syntheses is designed to help laboratory workers in the preparation of all sorts of inorganic chemicals, and to outline techniques which may be adapted to inorganic preparations. The need for such help was evidenced by the warm reception accorded to Volume I. The current volume, with its numerous improvements, should be even more valuable. JOHNC. BAILAR, JR. Physical Chemistry jofor Colleges. By E. B. MILLARD. 6th edition. 682 bp. New York and London: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1946. Price: $4.50. Professor Millard has again undertaken the difficult task of presenting elementary physical chemistry to beginning students. I n this, the sixth edition of his widely used text, the greater part of the subject matter has been rewritten, but the selection and order of the topics are essentially the same as in the preceding edition. The introductory chapter of the previous edition has now been expanded into two chapters: Introduction-Determination of Atomic Weights; and Elementary Thermodynamics, Then follow chapters on: Properties of Substances in the Gaseous State; Properties of Substances in the Liquid State; Crystalline Solids; Solutions; Solutions of Ionized Solutes; Thermochemistry; Equilibrium in Homogeneous Solutions; Heterogeneous Equilibrium; Phase Diagrams (formerly included in the previous chapter); Kinetics of Homogeneouo Reactions; Radiation and Chemical Change; Periodic Law of the Elements; Radioactive Changes; Atomic Structure; ColloidsSurface Chemistry; Free Energy of Chemical Changes; and Potentials of Electrolytic Cells. The number of pages has been increased from 600 in the fifth edition to 682 in the present edition; the number of problems has been increased from 327 to 355. Tbe treatment of topics is, on the whole, quite good. Many of the more difficult concepts are excellently illustrated by the large number of numerical problems worked out in detail in the text. The large number of tabulated data serve not only as a basis for some of the problems for the student, but help him t o understand the experimental basis for the laws of
