book reviews Editor: W . F. KlEFFER Collage of Woorter
Woater, Ohio
John H. Hollowoq, Univelrity of Aberdeen. Methnen & Co. Ltd., London/ Barnes & Noble, Inc., New York, 1968. 213 pp. Figs. and tables. 14.5 viii X 22 cm. $6.75.
ingly short half-lives under normal conditions. A comparison is made of the dissociation energies of those species for which data is svailable. There is also a brief resume of the theoretical medictions made after the discovery of t h e xenon fluorides concerninc other. new noble-eas
This is the fifth book, devoted to the noble gases, which has been published since the discovery of the first chemical compoond of xenon in 1962. Nevertheless, the author bas managed to use an approach which differs from that used by his predecessors. The book is divided into three sections each complete in itself and yet each an integral part of the whole. Part 1 deals with the discovery and properties of the noble-gas elements. This section is brief; it, gives the reader enough information to understand the early history of the "inert" gas elements. For those whose appet.ites are whetted, there is an excellent list of references to original work. Stndents who find diffic u l t , ~getting accurate results with the equipment in today's laborat,ories would find it sobering to read M. W. Travers', "The Discovery of the Ilare Gases." Part 2 is concerned with species in which noble gases ace weakly bonded to one another or to other elements. These species artre ob%erved in discharge tubes or mass spectrometers and have exceed-
there are only weak intermolecular forces between the noble gas and the host molecule. The 45 pages which make up Part 2 of the book provide an excellent review of the pre-1962 "compo~mds"of the noble gases. Here, as in the other parts of the book, the author provides an exhaustive list of references. The third part of the book is devoted to the chemical compa~mds of the noble gases; that is, the compounds of krypton, xenon, and radon. The aot,hor has firsthand knowledge, having worked in this field both in Great Britain and a t the Argonne Nat,ional Laboratory where much of the early work was done. He has succeeded in providing comprehensive coverage of the preparation and chemical properties of the known compoonds of the noble gmes. The anthor is a n experimental chemist and the accent is on that aspect of the field, although there is a chapter summarizing the present thoughts on bonding in the noble-gas compoonds.
Noble-Gar Chemistry
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-Reviewed
Attention is drawn to those experimental results which are doubtful or unconfirmed. As might be expected in a field which is so new and which is developing so rapidly, the book contains a few facts which were shown t o be incorrect subsequent to the submission of the manuscript, For exexample, on page 99 work is cited suggesting that the Xe/Fg reaction is catalyzed by the material of construction of the reaction vessel. This has now been shown to be incorrect. In addition same of the usual mistakes have crept in; thus, the reference to [82] a n page 112 for the stability of XeF2 and the one to [65] on page 126 for the stability of XeOzFl are in error. The reviewer has some more personal criticisms. I t is a pity that i t took from December 1967 to February 1969 for a relatively short book to find its way from manuscript form to the bookstores. Although the division into three selfcontained parts has advantages, i t is irritating to try and find some of the references in the middle of the book and more irritating once a reference is located to find that one is merely referred to another part of the book or another reference. An author index or alphabetized references would have been a welcome addition. For the stttdent or beginning researcher who is interested in the chemistry of the noble gases this is undoubtedly the best available book on the subject. Dr. Holloway writes well and has done a good job of digesting the material in several hundred papers and making i t easy for the rest of os to share this knowledge.
in this Issue
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John H. Holloway, Noble-Gas Chemistry . .623 H . Rassow, Construction and Use of Atomic and Moleclilar Models . . ,623 J . P . Candlin, K. A . Taylor, and D. T . Thompson, lleaetions of Transition . . ,624 Metal Complexes 3. H . Canlerjord and R. Colton, Halides of the Tran*it,ion Elements. 1.Ialides of the Second and Third Itow Transition Metals . . ,624 Leo A . Paguetle, Principles of Modern Heterocyclic Chemist,ry ..624 A. H . P. Leuer, Inorgauic Electronic Spectroscopy . . .A628 Alan Eernshaw, Introdoction to Magnetochemistry . . .A628 N . Iruing Sax, Uangerou~Properties of Industrial I\laterials . . .A628 William D. Ranmy, Inquiry Techniques for Teaching Science . . . A630 Richard J . M e d l and David Ridgwav, The CHEM Study Story . . . A631 W . H. Brock, editor, The Atomic Debates. Brodie and the Rejection of the Atomic Theory . . . A631 R. Stevens, editor, Dictionary of Organic Componnd~,Fourth Supplement, . . .A631 1968 G. A. Lindeboom, Herman Baerhaave: The Man and his Work . . . A632 G. Tromel and t,he Gmelin Instilute, editors, Gmelin-Durrer Metallurgy of Iron. Volume 2, Parts A and B . . . A632 E. H . E. Pietsch, A. Kotowski, and the Gnwlininstitute, editors, Gmelins Handbnch der Anorganischen Chemio. 8. Auflage, System Nummer 57, Nickel. Teil A 11, Lieferung2, Elektrochemisches rmd Chemisches Verhalten Nachweis m d Bostimmrung . . .A632 New Volumes in Conlinuing Series . . .A632
Construction and Use of Atomic and Molecular Models
H. Hassow. Pergamon Press, New 213 pp. Figs. and York, 1968. ix tables. 13.5 X 20.5 cm. Clothbound, 85.50; paperbound, $3.75.
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This book details the construction of the commonly discussed structures of introductory chemist.ry from inexpensive materials, e.g., plastic spheres. Although the author gives no preface which would cite his intended audience, the bookshould be a u~~eful addition to thelibraries of secondary school science departments, for their teachers and interested students. Teachers of introdoctory college chemistry may find the latter portion of the book dealing with crystal models and their quantitative relationships applicable to their class demonstrations. The kinds of models constructed may be classified as: ball-and-stick, space-tilling, orbital, and crystal models of unit cells and lattices. After a clarification of the scientific meaning of "model" and a survey of principles of the atomic model of matter
Volume 46, Number 9, September 1969
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