Peter Kapitsa on life and science - Journal of Chemical Education

Peter Kapitsa on life and science. Ralph E. Oesper. J. Chem. Educ. , 1969, 46 (5), p A382. DOI: 10.1021/ed046pA382.1. Publication Date: May 1969. Cite...
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book reviews This book is a pleasure, a satisfaction, a challenge. I t is not one that will remail) ~tnnpenedan a library shelf after it is vnce read.

Patar Kapitra on Life and Science

Addrsses and Essays collected, translat,ed, and annotated with an Introdnction by Albert Parry, Colgate University, Hamilton, N. Y. The Macmillan Company, New York, 1968. 271 pp. 14 X 21 em. $7.50. Peter Kapitsa is doubtless better known to the Western scientific world than any other Soviet scientist. Born July 8, 1894, he received the first stages of his education in Russia and came to Cambridge in 1921 to continue his work in physics rmder Rutherford. He was awarded a doctorate in 1923. In his interesting and informative Introduction, Dr. Parry, who has done a magnificent job as annotator and translator, gives adequate accounts of Kapitsa's activities in England and especially of the opposing stories of his permanent return to the Soviet Union after some thirteen years a t the Cavendish Laboratory. There is no doubt that he is a devoted Communist, but his views have been fundamentally altered by his long exposure to Rutherford. In Part I, Kapitsa. discusses four men of science: Benjamin Franklin, Lomonasov, Rutherford, and Langevin (French physicist, contemporary, and close friend). These essays me valuable for the insight they give into Kapitsa's estimate of their work and influence ns revealed in these addresses, articles, and letters to his mother. Part I1 consists of speeches, reports, and ~uhlishedrtrticles. I n these he discusses many important topics that are of interest t,o all areas of science: broad cd.wariw goal+, qeanizutio~.and nimr of rwenrrlt inctirwc.~,cqmimcntntion v r r t t l ~ I I P L . ~l~c,d . ~ i ~ . aappliwtions l of l n l ~ m tory findings, the proper training of young scientists, and the like. Part 111 is made up of two interviews later published in periodicals. The reporters asked a variety of questions and received straightforward answers. One of the interviews is entitled: Man in the World of Data; the other: An Invitation to Argument. The volume closa with the notes that Dr. Parry hm thoughtfully supplied for each of the sixteen portions of the hook. Thev heln the reader to understand the text, the unfamiliar names involved, etc. An excellent Index is supplied. The reviewer enjoyed reading this hook, whose central figure is an outstanding physicist. I t is not a technical treatise and can he understood by all who have at least a high school training. It also yields some idea of why, the Soviets have done so well in certain areas and not so well in others. ~~

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Journal of Chemical Education

Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemical Analysis. Volume 6, Antifreezes to Benzaldehyde

Edited by Foster Dee Snell and Clifford I,. Hilton. Interscience Publishers ( a division of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.), 680 pp. Figs. New York, 1968. xi and tables. 18 X 25 em. $35 subscription, $45 single copy.

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Eighteen topics, including antihistamines, antioxidants, azo dyes, bakery products, and barbiturates; are included in this volume of Snell and Hikon's extensive work on industrial analytical techniques (see J. CEEM.Enuc., 44, A359 IlQR7\i \."-. ,,. A brief introduction is followed by a section giving the physical and chwnical properties of the material. General methods of analysis are then, given in considerable detail. Analyses for various components or derivatives are often included. Each chapter is concluded with an extenfiive bibliography. Many tables provide a great deal of data. that would not be readily available in many instances, such as trade and generic name5 for the antihistamines, absorption spectra for commercial antioxidants, and properties of ashstaq fihws.

J . ~ N B. ~ TVAN D ~ R I ~ N College of Woosler Woosler, Ohio

Gmelins Handbueh der Anorganirchen Chemie. 8. Aufloge, System Nummar 6, Chlor. Erganrungrband, Teil B, Lieferung 1,Varbindungen bis Chlor und Warserstoff

Edited by E. H. E. Pietseh, A . Kotowski and the Gmelin Institute. Verhg Chemie, GMBH, Weinheim/Berg314 pp. Figs. and strasse, 1968. xv tables. 17.5 X 25.5 cm. $91.

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After a few pages on chlorine and the rare gas=, this section is devoted to HCI. Topics include hydrogen-chlorine reactions, thermodynamic formation data, preparation in the laboratory, the molecule and molecular ions, physical properties, electrochemical behavmr, the HCI-HzO system, non-aqueous solvents, and liquid HC1 ns 8. solvent,. An additional chapter is included on the behavior of the chloride ion.

JANET B. VANDOREN -

College of Woosler Wooster. Ohio