VOJ. 5. No. 3
RECENTBOOKS
W s i o n pressure and osmotic pressure is quite common. The book mpplas a much-felt need and will prove excecdmgly useful to hrologiwl students. E m S. JOHNSTON The Electronic Theory of ~alehcy. N. V. SmGwrcK, M.A., Sc.D., D.Sc., P.R.S. Oxford University Press, Ameriean 310 Branch, New York, 1927. xii pages. 4 figs. 24 X 16 cm. $5.00.
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The book gives the fullest account yet available of the principles of valency and molecular constitution, based upon the Rutherford-Bohr atom. It attempts to interpret the fundamentals of valency in molecular structure in terms of the . physical concepts of electrons, nuclei, and orbits, without transmessing the physical laws which these physical entities possess. The book, therefore, outlines the theory of the nuclear atom, the Bohr wncept of the hydrogen atom, and the Bohr-Main, Smith-Stoner proposals for the position of orbital electrons in atoms. With this as a foundation it proceeds with the development af the electronic theory of valency, the familiar views of Kossel, Lewis and Langmuir constituting the fundaments1 basis of presentation. To the ideas of electrovalency and co-valency the wncept of co6rdinate valeucy is added. Having discussed the criteria of each, the applicability to Werner's theory of wardination is illustrated in detail. The idea of a coardinate link with one atom or group as donor of electrons and one as acceptor wnstitutes a necessary amplification and extension of Werner's ideas to double salts and to chelate or ring wmpounds in which latter one part of the molecule acts as donor to another part as acceptor. Molecular association in compounds is attributed to wardinate linkages, as also is solvent power, hydrate formation, and solvation. Atomic and molecular magnetism are then treated. followed bv a discussion of the stereochemistry of various elements
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in their compounds. A more detailed discussion of chelate rings is given and a final chapter is devoted to a skeleton outline of a future volume taking up the applicability of these ideas to the individual elements and their compounds. The author has undoubtedly given us a most lucid treatment of the subject and has succeeded in systematizing, with the aid of a few electronic postulates, a vast mass of iuorgsnic chemistry as well as organic. The book should be read by all teachers of chemistry. I t is already being used with success in at least one university (Princeton) as an advanced text for graduate students in inorganic chemistry. HUGHS. TAYLOR
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The Higher Coal-Tar Hydrocarbons. ARTHURERNEST EVEREST.Longmans, Green and Co., Ltd., New York, 1927. 334 pp. 22 X 14 cm. $7.00. xiii
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As pointed out by the author, the field of wal-tar hydrocarbons is far too extensive to be dealt with in such a volume as this and so 111 hydrocarbons up to and including napbth&ne and anthracene have been omitted. The author has collected and presented in a compact wellarranged form the known facts regarding the acenaphthene, fluorene, and phenanthrene groups of hydrocarbons, together with some miscellaneous groups not included under these headings. A great gain in clarity has been attained hy the care taken with the numbering of the various ring complexes. The number of suggestive things pointed out by the author are many and a few may he mentioned here. Speaking of pyrene, BsHlo, the author staks: "Despite the fact that this substance has been known for a considerable timeLaurent obtained it in an impure state in 1837-it has not yet attracted any great amount of attention, nor has it yet received any large technical application. Glaser has pointed out that this hydrocarbon contains a larger percentage
of carbon (95 per cent) than coal itself." Again we find that benzerythrene (4.4'diphenyl-diphenyl) becomes "highly electrified when warmed." The author has done a great service in writing this book. covering a field which still in large measure awaits exploitation both scientifically and commercially. F. 0. RICE Annual Survey of Americm Chemistry. 1, Volume 11. July 1, 1926-July 1927. Edited by CLARENCE J. WEST under the auspices of the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Technology of the National Research Council. Published for the National Research Council by the Chemical Catalog Co., New York, 1927. 397 pp. 13 X 21 cm. $3.00. It is a self-evident proposition that the rapidly increasing volume of chemical publications demands some sort of a resum6 of literature that will aid the general student in gaining an accurate idea of the current advances in the various fields of pure and applied chemistry. American chemistry itself had seemingly reached this stage, and the reception of Volume I brought confirmatory evidence to the editors of the need and general desire for such a publication; hence, its continuation under the auspices of the National Research Council. This survey (Volume 11) is the work of 51 well-known chemists, 24 of whom edited the corresponding chapters in the first report. The book contains 49 chapters and 415 pages as against 34 chapters and 251 pages in Volume I. The additional 158 pages are largely due t o the following additions: An increase in the space devoted to physical chemistry; Four chapters on analytical chemistry including the common and rare ele. ments and micro-chemistry; The inclusion of additional reports on applied chemistry in the fields of glass, clay-products, coke, coal and g w o u s fuels, petroleum chemistry
and technology, rayon, leather, and the fixation of nitrogen. (d) New chapters in electra-organic, stereo, and sugar chemistry. (e) An author's index to volumes I and 11.
The volume is primarily a report of progress, though in many cases especially important investigations are evaluated. I t may be of interest to mention that under aliphatic compounds Dr. Reid has suggested some lines of needed research and bas listed the institutions and the types of aliphatic compounds that are being investigated in their laboratories. I n the chapter on coSperative research, Dr. Hale has given the title "25 Investigations That Were in Progress in the Fall of 1926." This data affords some interesting information as to the types of problem that the industries feel are worth investigating and i t should be of service in indicating to the isolated investigator this field of opportunity for coiiperative work on worthwhile problems. In short the st& of editors deserves commendation for its able and painstaking work in presenting to American chemists this convenient and noteworthy survey of the year's literature. F. B.DAINS
