Some electrical and optical aspects of molecular behavior (Davies

Some electrical and optical aspects of molecular behavior (Davies, Mansel). H. Bradford Thompson. J. Chem. Educ. , 1966, 43 (8), p A662. DOI: 10.1021/...
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BOOK REVIEWS orties are given and discussed where pert,inent. I rather donbt whether this hook will be wed tn any great extent a- a s u p p l e ment 1.0 a beginning organic rotme. This is a fanlt of organic chemistry rnther than (,his book. There is simply boo mnch ~ e n e r d'hemistry which shrnlld be given in too few horm without, referal to such speeifio subjects. I t w o ~ ~ l be d quite appropriate to m e it as a supplement in a senior course in organic chemistry or in a specific coume in natural prodnct chemist.ry, eit,her undergmdnnte or gmduate.

Some Elertriral and Optical Aspects of Molecular Behavior

Manscl Chemical England. IM5. ix 18 X 19

Davicx, Erlwimd 1)avio~ Laboratoritx, Ahorystwyth, Pergamon PTR~S,New York, 180 pp. Figs. and tuhlo-.. cm. Paperho~tnd. 12.25.

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We are prone, in these d;ty?; of 111 and NMR, to t,hiuk of the interaction of moloc r h with elecl.romagnet,ia radiation largely in npeetroscopio t,erms. Ih. Ihvies has prepared in this small book a concise survey of many of I,he non8peetl.owopic ways in rhir,h info~mnlion rrhout,

A662

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Journol of Chemicol Education

the sbl;uctwe i l f moltw~lwe t n hr h t s i n e d from t,heir helrwvior in elertromagnetir fields. The 6rsL chapter is s very short review of some very basic physics. Chapter Two deals wit,h polarisatwn and polari~. ahilit,y, the Clsusii~s-Yfc,ssotlim d Debye eqltations, n a h r refrnr,tion and polarisation, and the dipole moment. The following r:hapter s,~mmariaesin some detail the relation of dipole moments t,o molec~tlar structure, inclucling the estimntirm of ionic ~chmseter,bond m d gl.oup moment-, deduction of stmatures, and ii~trarnolecr~lar rotation. Chapter Four diarusses the failure of the I k h y e eqia~tiorr in polar solvenh, eoncenlrated solutions and pure liquids. The Onsager treatment and some of its modifiralians, problems eneountercd in hydrogen-bonded liq$~ids nrld the treatment by Kirkwood are dewrihed. The fifth chapter covers dielectric: dispersion, and opens wilh :I disn~ssionof dielectric loss, ph:~se, rungle and the complex permitt,ivity. T h r tre*t,ment by Pellat, Debyo, and othms is rnltlined and experimental method.; :we disrussed. Applic~tionst , water ~ :md ice-salt solut,ior$s, polar salutes in nonpolar wlvents, and organic solids are presented. C h ~ p t , e r Six (the longest i u the hook) rovers a variety of suhjerts related to molecular polarisahility, i~rchlding light sentt,ering and its relationship t,o molerolar weight and shape, xnisotropy, the Kerr e8ec.t and it,s interpretat,ion, optiral activity, and the Ramsn etTect. The final chapter considers intermolecular fr,rcs and ~nergier.

11,style the text is clear and interesline. It is competently illustrated, and o a n t s i ~ ~ . hill-paee phologrxphs of Peter Tkhye m i l Charles Phclps Smyth, each in a lahorslory setting. The level is appmprinbe 10 ;I gredrtnte ent~rsein molecular s t r a r t ~ ~ r c , 1,111 amdd he too brief and elementary for a more sperinlised course. Some discussinn of eapwimental methods and a hrief selertion of typical data. accompany e w h theoretiral dirmssion. A few (five Lo twelve) nwnerirnl exercise5 are g i v ~ n~ O P each chapter. 111 any survey of a wide field, a msjw pmhlenr is the rhoice of simplificatims :IMI omissions: i t is impossible to tell the "whole trnth." I n fairness an ~ u t h ~ t . mist he given wide latitude here, and the teacher may then amplify and extend partimlnr areas if he wishes. However, this text. in my opinion strays beynrd thc limits of g o d pedagogy in several instances. Three examples will suffice. First, on p a p 41, in a discussion of the iul.erprelati