France in succession found themselves surpassed by Germany in fields they had believed naturally their own. Portraits of leading personalities are given in concise strokes, and in writing about Justus Liebig, the author refers to the biography written by Fritz Haber, his father. Chapter 10, Big Business in the Making, contains the fascinating story about the organization of the large companies and the formation of the Interessen-Gemeinschaften. The next chapter deals with the problems in ownership and management, patent law, taritfs and other government regulations. The last chapter gives revealing insight into the pw sition of the workers a t various times and in different countries. The statistical tables, of whieh there are many, show the almost explosive rise of the chemical industry in the later part of the century. In the United States, production of sulfuric acid was 53,600 tons in 1865, and 700,000 tons 24 years later, In Germany, for example, about four times as much tonnage of potash salts was produced in one day in 1900 as in the entire year 1861. Further details on sulfuric acid, soda, bleaches and dyestuffs are given in the Appendix, with graphs far prices and exports. In all, this is a rich source of materiale to enliven many a lecture on chemical industry and to appreciate our present situation through its historical ppreeedents. There is only one statement in the h w k that is wrong. Describing the new synthetic dyestuffs, Haber refers to fuchsine, developed by the manufacturer Renard, as "the German for renard" (page 82). Renard's French patent No. 22,706 of 1859 states thst the name fuehsine was to allude to the color of the fuchsia flower! I mention this mainly so that my high praise for Haher's book may not be suspected of resnlting from uncritical reading! The bibliography of 16 closely printed pages does not really contradict the quoted opening sentence. EDUARD FARBER W*snwo~or*,D. C.
MATHEhfATICS AND WAVE MECHANICS
R. H. Atkin, Lecturer in Mathematics, Northern Polytechnic, London. John Wiley & Sons, Ino., New York, 1957. xv 348 pp. 14.5 X 22.5 cm. $6.
+
THISbook contains a fantastic amount of material in 334 pages: analysis, vectors, determinants, matrices, differential equations, classical mechanics, vector field theory, wave motion, electromagnetio field, matrix mechanics, wave mechanics, perturbation theory, electron spin, quantum chemistry, stati&ical mechanics, and quantum theory of radiation. The main purpose of the hook is to cover the principles and some applications of quantum mechanics (145 pages) but it also includes the necessary background material in mathematics and theoretied VOLUME 35, NO. 8, AUGUST, 1958
physics (199 pages). I t is remarhble how much detail and advanced coverage can he included in the amount of spaee used. The hook represents a masterful piece of condensation and organization. It is hard to see how this excellent mechanics, because of the terse style. Most students will need additional detail and much more extensive discussion, in words, of the physical significance of the various concepts treated. Also, the point af view is definitely that of a physicist; this is another serious ohstdele to the use of this book ss a. text far a. quantum chemistry course. I t does not seem possible to separate out the kind of material (especially thst concerned with basic principles) usually presented to chemists. The main use of "Mathematics and Wave Mechanics" would appear to be as a reference work or suoolementmv text. The problems a t ?he end of chapters deserve special commendation. They are numerous and excellent. TERRELL L. HILL
UN~VERB OF~OAEOON T~ Euame. O n ~ a o x
THE CHEMISTRY OF THE ACTINIDE ELEMENTS Joseph J. Katz, Argonne National Laboratory, and Glenn T. Seaborg, University of California, Berkeley. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1957. xv 508 pp. 16 X 24 em. $14.
+
INVIEW of the tremendous interest in uranium and the elements which follow it in the periodic system, this is a timely book. The authors have set out to provide "a comprehensive and unified treatment of the chemistry of the actinide elements for both the nuclear ttechnogolist and the inorganic and physical chemist." It is the reviewer's opinion that the authors have been highly successful in fulfilling their objective. A chapter is devoted to each of the actinide elements, the lengths of the various chapters reflecting the state of current knowledge of these elements. Thus, whereas the chemistry of d l the elements (actinium through nobelium) is described in about 400 pages, 290 of these deal with thorium (50 pages), uranium (110 pages!, plutonium (90 pages), and amenmum (43 pages). Among the topics discussed far each element are: history, isotopes, occurrence and isolation, properties of the element, solid comoounds, and solution chemistrv. The chapters are well organbed and written, with the quantitative aspects of the chemistry of the elements heing emphasized. The important literature through 1956 is cited. The material on the various elements is followed by a superb chapter entitled "Summary and Correlation of Properties." Included in this section are discussions of chemical and physical properties, crystal structure, absorption
and fluorescence spectra, electronic configuration from magnetic dsta, spectroscopic data, and the position of the actinides in the periodic system. The section ends with a consideration of future possibilities for elements beyond 102 (nobelium). The book contains appendixes on atomic weights of the actinide nuclides, X-ray energies, and nuclear spins. In all regards (organbation, content, clarity of miting, ete.), the hook is excellent and is recommended without reservation.
PHYSICO-CHFMICAL EFFECTS OF PRESSURE
S. D. Hamann, Division of Industrial Chemisky, High Pressure Laboratory, Sydney University, Australia. Academic 246 Press, Inc., New York, 1957. ix pp. 15 X 22 cm. $8.50.
+
THE little volume before us presents an excellent survey of a field which extends over all physical chemistry from physics on the one hand to chemical engineering on the other. Its excellence arises from the author's ability to compress into small compass information from every area in this broad field and at the same time present the information in a very readable, authoritative, and interesting way. There is hardly a topic in pressure physics and chemistry that is not touched on, and even to enumerate them all wodd not only he tedious but would oonsl~memore spaee than is allowed for a review. After summarizing the empirical methods for conducting quantitative experiments under high pressures, including a short hut good account of transient high pressure phenomena such as those observable in explosions and shock waves, the author describes volumetric effects of pressure, giving examples of the experimental results and the theories used t,o interpret them. Indeed a very satisfying feature of the hook is the mixture of theoretical studies and experimental results which the author introduces into his discussion of every major topic. As the book proceeds, the author describes the effects of pressure on phase equilibria in systems of one and two oomponents, on transport properties such as viscosity, diffusion and heat conditions, on dielectric and optical properties including optical and infrared spectra, F-Center absorption, nuclear magnetic resonance, on electrolylic conduction, and polarogmphy. Two ~ubstantial chapters are devoted respectively to the effects of pressure on equilibria in chemical systems and to the kinetics of chemical reactions under pressure. In both of these, especially in the latter, the experimental results are systematized by reference to the current theoretical knowledge. The chapter on reaction kinetics is particularly interesting.
