book reviews circle, and should he in every university library. ROYG. NEVILLE Bechtel Laboratory Belmont. Calif. S I Chemical Data
0.H. Aylward and T. J. V. Findlay. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1971. vii 127 pp. $3.50.
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Thereis growingdiscussion in the United States as to the worth and feasibility of moving toward S I units. Here is a. mast useful, compact book which both supplies some examples of what happens
when SI units are used, and (it is the opinion of this reviewer) shows that no great difficulties are involved. The biggest one is learning to live with an additional factor of four in moving from kcal to kjoules. I wonder how long it will he before centigrade disappears completely in favor of Kelvin? There are thirty tables of various values for the properties most commonly used in chemistry. They are clearly and s u e cinctly resented and a list of reference sources is indicated for those who wish to look further. Any small collection of data can he faulted, but this one seems to he exceptionally well balanced. I was amused to find that the tables for organic compounds included general properties plus them* chemical data wheress there are two Ben%rate tables for inorganic compounds. I would find i t space saving and more useful
to have the inorganic compounds treated as the organic compounds were. This compilation will almost certainly be more widely used abroad than in the United States, which is unfortunate for i t does show haw minimal the changes are in moving to SI units-a. direction that chemists in this country should follow. J . A. CAMPBELL Harvey Mudd College Claremont, Calif. 91711
Elsevier's Medical Dictionary in Five Languages
Compiled and arranged by A. Slioberg, Paris, France. Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam and New York, 1963. 1538 pp. 16 X 22 em. $45. Certain areas of chemistry are so closely allied to medicine that a chemical library must necessarily contain medics1 dictionaries in various of the modern languages. This monumental work, though based on English-American, actually comprises no less than five lmguages and thus is highly recommended. The languages included a : English-American, French (Fran$a&), Italian (Italiano), Spanish (Esparid), German (Deutsch). I n all, close to 35,000 terms are included and the worker in rtnv of these five laueuaees will make the location of any one term and hence its equivalents in the other four languages a. very simple matter. Actual trials have demonstrated that this device really works. Though small type is employed the text is excellently legible. I n these days when workers in science are daily confronted by journals published in other languages, the need for a dictiona y o f this kind and scope needs no defense and though the price, a t first glance, seems high, the buyer gets a lot for his money. The compiler, a medical man of rare talents, must have devoted years to this compilation and richly deserves a hearty approbation for his "labor of love." Though this review comes quite a few years after the actual date of publication, this kind of information never goes out of style and the chances of its being brought down to date seem a t present to he remote. This book is an exceptionally fine literary tool and deserves favorable publicity and the resultrtnt wider sale. RALPHE. OESPER University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio
Koagulalion und Stabilitil Disperser Systeme
Hans Sonntag and Klaus Strenge, Berlin, East Germany. VEB Deutscher Verleg der Wissenschaften, Berlin, German Democratic Republic, 1970. 173 pp. Diagrams and tables. 16 X 23 cm. 30.80 marks (= approx. $9.50).
A656 / journal of Chemical Education
The "Coagulation and Stability of Disperse Systems" is of much theoretical and practical importance and consequently this book will be welcomed in many quarters, not only for the clarity of the discussions hut a h for its wealth of information that will be found valuable by workers in many fields. On the one hand are the systems that are chamcterized by resistance to coagulating agents and on the other those that are readily coagulated t o yield flocculationsthat are resistant against redispersion. Among the first class are phamsceuticals,lattices,emulsionsoffoodstuffs, dispersions of pigments. Flocculation and coalescence are typified by the removal of water droplets and gas bubbles from oils, the various flotation processes, etc. Chemists, chemical engineers, and biologists will be interested in the contents of this book. A valuable feature is the Biblioera~hv
covered and condensed in the numerous sections devoted to the main discussions of the chief aspects of the book's topics. The theoretical discussions are clear and thorough and likewise the comments on the various industries that involve disperse systems. Because of its general excellence this hook merits being translated into English. RALPHE. OESPER Uniuersitg of Cincinnati Cincinnati Ohio
Grundlagen der Analytischen Chemie
F ~ i l zSeel, Saarbnicken, Germany, Verlag Chemie, Weinheim/Bergstrssse, Germany, 5th improved edition, 1970. 387 pp. 49 illustrstiom and 53 tables. 17 X 24 cm. D M 22 (1 D M = 30t). First issued in 1955, thisoutstandingtext has undergone periodic revisions and extensions. The main tit1e"Foundrttions of Andyticd Chemistry" carries the sub-title "With special consideration of the chemistry in aqueous systems." It is not designed to take the place of the usual Lexts because it contains no specific directions or procedures in quantitative analysis but instead stresses the theoretical aspects of the subject. I t clearly exhibits the close relationship between analytical and physical chemistry and in the present edition has been brought down to date. The language is not especially difficult and most chemists csn follow the German discussions without particular difficulty. Typical chapter headings will illustrate the breadth of the treatment: The Precise Form of the Law of Mass Action; Homogeneous Equilibria; Complex Compounds, Complex Salts and Complex Ions; The Strength of Acids and Bases; Colorimetric Measurement of p H ; Difficultly Soluble Hydroxides; Theoretical Foundations of Ion Exchangers; Reactions in Salt Melts; Redox Titrrttions; Potentiometric Titrations and Potentiometric pH-Measurements, Theoretical
Foundations of External Electrolysk, Solution Processes; etc. This text should be put into English so that its r e d value and field of usefulness would be enlarged to proper proportions. RALPHE. OESPER Universitg of Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio
Chemisehe Experimente die gelingenAnorganisrhe Chemie
Hermann Rompp (died 1964), 16th ed. edited and revised by Hermann Raaf. Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgmt, Germany, 1971. 190 pp. Diagrams, tables, photographs. 13 X 19.5 cm. 12.80 D M (1 D X = 32f). Though RBmpp's international reputation was due mostly to his monumental multi-volume ChemiaLexikon, he was also widely known in his native Germany for his popular books on chemistry, which were directed mainly a t the lower echelons of chemicd students and those attempting to learn something about this science on their own. The book under review here, whose title translated into English is "Chemical Experiments that Succeed" falls into the latter classification. It was fimt published in 1939 and has gone through many editions and revisions, with a total sale of around 125 thousand copies. Obviously the book has filled an urgent need and the purchasers have included not only the auto-didacts but also many teachers who have used the book as a source of lecture experiments. The clear exposition of chemical theories and concise clear method of stating facts have been reflected and imitated in many texts. Since it is directed a t the heenners who lack trained directions, it contains discussions of such things as common types of chemical apparatus, the characteristics of numerous inorganic chemicals, glass blowing, the common chemical operations, etc. The theoretical discussions interspersed among the procedures lift the book out of the cookbook class. The experiments, drawn largely from the practical world really work. The author has not shunned experiments that carry a certain danger (for example fireworks, gunpowder) but in such cases he gives ample warning against explosions, the free inhalation of toxic vapors and so on. The number of pages is misleading hecause the typesize used is much smaller than usual; there is no loss of legibility. The experiments are many and varied and drawn from all areas of inorganic, analytical and physical chemistry. This is an exceptionally fine book and teachers who read German Itre urged to acquire i t as a source of helpful ideas. The price is so moderate that there is no need here to give a full analysis of the contents. Get the book and read i t carefully and enjoy the masterly method in which the author exercises his skill. RALPH E. ORSPEE Universitg of Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio 45221 Volume 49, Number I I , November 1972
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