NEW BOOKS
1031
VI. Photochemical Decompositions; VII. Reactions of Free Alkyl Radicals; VIII. Free Aryl Radicals and their Reactions in Solution; IS. Reactions Catalyzed by Free Radicals: X. Reactions Involving Metals; X I . Some Oxidation Mechanisms; X I I . Some Possible Mechanisms for Biochemical Processes. Certainsmall and obvious errors or omissions are noticed. The word “bases” (page 111, last line) should probably read “cases”. In the first formula on page 112 one sulfur and one oxygen atom are missing. The term “tvons-dibroniocinnamic acid” (page 175) is a n unfortunate choice-indeed, its use here is incorrect-in spite of the logic behind its application in this particular case. In view of the recent investigations .by Bartlett and Soeaki, as well as those by Marvel, Prill, and DeTar dealing with the polymerization of maleic anhydride and its derivatives, some change is now necessitated at the bottom of page 199. The clarity of this presentation of data and the critical analysis of alternate possibilities found throughout the text makes this volume a choice item in the reviewer’s library. RICHARD T . ARNOLD.
Helium. By W . H . KEESOM. 494 pp.; 258 illustrations. Amsterdam, London, New York: Elsevier Publishing Company, 1942. Price : $10.00. The devotion of a n entire book of almost five hundred pages t o a single element permits of a n admirable thoroughness of treatment, especially when the element has no chemical affinity and attention may be confined t o the atomic state. Much of the interest in helium derives from its lightness and chemical inertness and its extremely low melting and freezing points. Helium was first liquefied in 1508 in the laboratory of Kammerlingh Onnes a t Leiden, in which Keesom has been the principal collaborator and of which he has been Director for the past several years. KOone could be found more suited t o describe the searching studies t h a t have been made of helium from many varied points of int,erest and nothing has been neglected from its spectacular discovery in the sun down to the latest results in its ejection from the nucleus of heavy atoms in the form of alpha particles. The occurrence, production, and commercial uses are discussed. Even the regulations for the export of helium from the United States are quoted. The gaseous, liquid, and solid states, as well as the properties of the atom such as its spectra and energy, are fully treated. The final chapter is devoted to the helium nucleus. S. C. LISD. Nuclear Physics Tables (64 pp.) by J. MATTAUCK and An Introduction to Nuclear Physics Translated by Interscience Publishers, Inc. 8 colored plates. (109 pp.) by S. FLUEGGE. Kew York: Interscience Publishers, Inc., 1946. Price: $12.00. This work, as the title indicates, consists of two rather distinct though related parts. The Tables contain data collected a t the Kaiser Wilhelm Institut up to 1541 for all stable and radioactive isotopes. Full literature references are given. Although the Tables are now six years old, they nevertheless contain much material in convenient form which could not be found without wide searches in the literature of several decades just past. The Introduction to Nuclear Physics will also be found valuable, especially t o new students of the subject, though it suffers from the lack of any literature references. S. C. LIND. German-English Science Dictionary. By LOUISDEVRIESwith the collaboration of members of the Graduate Faculty, Iowa State College. 2nd edition. 558 pp. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1946. Price: $4.50. This book, very convenient in size and construction, contains 48,000 entries of the English equivalents of German words used i n science. The second edition is about 50 per cent larger than the first and has been revised so as t o make i t more useful t o chemists. It also includes words used i n the biological, agricultural, and other physical sciences. Several useful tables have been added covering abbreviations, chemical elements, and physical units of measurement. 5. C. LIND.
