The Allotropy of the Elements
W. E. Addism, University of Nottingham, England. Daniel Davey and Co., Inc., New York, 1966. vii 132 pp. Figs. and tables. $5.
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Although there are some exceptions, introductory and intermediate level treae ment of the chemistry of the solid state has been somewhat neglected in books published in this country. Thus this monograph in the Oldbourne Chemistry Series is a partimlarly welwme and needed work. I t might seem a t first surprising that somewhat less than half the book is devoted speoificdly to a disoussion of the properties of the allotropic forms of the elements. However, the author has wisely seen fit to lay the foundations in thermodynamics, chemical bonding, and crystal structure and then to use these concepts widely in the descriptive part. Chapter one (26 pages) begins with an introduction which provides some useful definitions snd distinctions and a rather brief treatment of experimental methods. There follows a, thorough discussion of the phase rule and its applications to systems of one component and s. development of the thermodynamio aspects of allotropy. The chapter concludes with a detailed consideration of the mechanism of allotropic transform* tions which includes a brief discussion of martensitic transformations. Chapter two (27 pages) deals with chemical bonding. A brief, but lucid, presentation of the electronic theory of the atom and of the periodic table is followed by a discussion of chemical bonding under the subheadings of diatomic molecules, polyatomic molecules with localized orbitals, polyatomic molecules with delocali~edorbitals, and some molecules of an intermediate nature (e.g., amne). The perspective is principally that of molecular orbital theory and band theory. The third chapter (16 pages) is concerned with orystal structure. Metal structures are discussed with particular emphasis on the close-packed (hexagonal and cubic) and body-centered cubic types and their inter-relrttionships. The structures of the nonmetals are first related to their electronic configurations; then follows a description of the zinc blende and sodium chloride structures and examples of nonmetal structures arising from each. The chapter concludes with a consideration of the interrelationship of the polymeric structures of the elements of Groups IV, V, and VI. Chapter four (50 pages) is a systematic presentation of the properties of the allotropic elements. The organization is socording to electronic configuration. Although the information given is quite spec5c and some workers' names are given, the only references are the twelve given in the appendix as Suggested Further Reading. Any reader of such a book will wish that the author h d treated some particular points in greater depth or may koow of some more recent work on a ~peciGcitem that had not come to the author's attention. For example, this reader might have wished
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for 8. brief discussion of anisotropy in the electrical conductivity of graphite (pp. 51, 91). In another instrtnce, the author states (p. 75) that iron "has never been obtained in the stable form of its cogeners ruthenium and osmium, i.e., hexaguud close-peeked," hut this farm of iron has been reported recently as being obtained a t very high pressures (T. Takahashi and W. A. Basset, Sciace, 145,483-6 [1964]). Chapter five (five pages) gives a brief account of variant forms of gaseous elements, particular attention being given ortho and para hydrogen and active nitrogen. On the whole, the book is quite carefully and lucidly written, the figures me easily understood, and the index is very good. This work would be quite well suited for supplementary reading in an upper division c o m e in inorganic chemistry and could possibly be used in the same manner in some high-level general chemistry courses. Thns any minor defeote noted above should not unduly detract from what is an excellent monograph, one well worth adding to a personal or institutional library. CLIFFORD E. MYERS Harpur College Binghamtm, New York
Photochemistry Jack G. Calvert, Ohio State University, Columbus, and James N . Pitts, Jr., University of California, Riverside. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 899 pp. Figs. and 1966. xvii tables. 16 X 23.5 cm. $19.50.
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This is the most comprehensive book on photochemistry yet to appear. All areas of photochemistry excepting photobiology are covered in this book. The authors have produced afull account of our present knowledge of the photochemistry of organic and inorganic compounds in the gaseons phase and in the solution phase. The work reviews thousands of references and therefore also serves as a valuable source of bibliography on the subject. The book is self-contained in that it oontaina a detailed review in the first four chapters of the physical problems asso-' ciated with photochemistry, notsbly the quantum mechanics of electronically excited states of molecules. This is followed by a treatment of the photochemistry of polyrttomic molecules, and then follows two chapters on rate mechanisms in photochemical reactions. The final c h a p ter is a modern account of experimental methods in photochemistry including the newer light sources and acthometry. There are also useful appendixes including tsbles of dissociation energies and pertinent thermocbemical data. Professors Calvert and Pitts are to be congratulated for their excellent book. It represents a great service to the field of photochemistry. This book will, no
d o ~ ~ b: te,w e A, the fund~imenrnlrcfcrence mlrrc 11. all laboratories purwing m e or nnorhcr a.jpevl of photorhmGrry. GERALDOSTER PolytedLnie Institute of B~wIclyn Brooklyn, New York
Mmcrornoleculer in Solution Herbert Morawetz, Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, New York. Interscience Publishers (a division of John Wiley and Sons, Inc.), New York, 1965. 495 pp. $16.50. mi
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This is a most stimulating and informative book, much more so than the stark simplicity of the title indioates. Its aim is to draw together the two related fields of solution studies of synthetic and natural mmacromolecules and to show how they complement and reinforce each other. At the end, it suggests, through a survey of association phenomena, and reactivity of polymers in solution, that it should be possible to make synthetic systems designed to imitate eneymes in their reactivity toward specific molecules or chemical processes. Professor Mar* wetz succeeds in his objective very well and shows many fruitful opportunities for cross fertilhation between the two fields. Although the relation between natural and synthetic polymers has heen a.subject of speculation for a long time, Morawetz points out that two developments of the last decade, now make it reasonable to resurvey the two areas as they relate to each other. First, Ziegler and Natta demonstrated that regularity of structure is not solely a property of natural polymers. Instead great wntrol can be exercised over the details of the structure of synthetic polymers. Thus, for example, synthetic "natural rubber," which closely duplicates natural rubber, can now be made after many fruitless earlier attempts. Second, the evistence of both natural and synthetic polymers in regular helical wnfigurations in solution demonstrates transfer of observed behavior between the two divisions. The original studies of helical structures in natural systems have been more and mare helpful in e x p l s i ~ n gaspects of the behavior of iynthetic materials. I t seems most reasonable that further similar interactions will be utilized. The book is designed for the reader who has some familiarity with polymer science as applied to synthetic macromolecules, but not necessarily an advanced understanding of the theories describing the behavior of polymers in solution. I t will be useful to graduate students, teachers of polymer ohernistry, and researchers in the area who want to have an authoritative sunrey of one of theimportantpt~rts of polymer science. The subjects include: thermodynamics of solutions, configurations of long chain molecules, dilute solution properties, interactions of polymeric solutions with radiation, polyelectrolytes, associations with macromolecules, and chemical reactions as affectedb y the presence of polymer (Cmtinued on page A.912)
