RECENT BOOKS THE OCEANS. T H E ~ R PHYSICS.CHEMISTRY, AND GENERAL BIOLOGY. H . U.S V E I ~ Y Professor U ~ ~ , of Oceanography, University of California, Director, Smipps Institution of Oceanography, Martin W. Johnson, Assistant Professor of Marine Biology, University of California, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Richard H. Fleming, Assistant Professor of Oceanography. University of California, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Prentice-Hall, Inc., New York, 1942. x 1087 pp. 265 figs. 121 tables. 7 charts. Computation tables. 15 X 22.5 cm. ' $%00. This war has made us more than ever conscious of the importance in our lives of the air and the sea. The latter is, of course. not so new t o us a s the former.. hut nevertheless. there are few ofus who nppreciatc that the SIIIIIY of the oreatlis not only a science in itself but the nrceting ground of a number 01 dinerent szicnccs, among which chemistry ir one of the most important. The field of oceanography, a3 a scientific study, is only some 7 0 years old, since the expedition of the Challmatr (1873-76) is generally taken to be its origin. everth he leis, it has now accumulated an extensive literature, and a considerable number of prominent figures in the contributing sciences are numhered among its scientific profession. This book is without doubt the most comprehensive and authoritative treatise or text which has thus far appeared in this field. The authors include the director and two of the staff of the oldest of the three oceanographic institutions in this country and are thoroughly conversant with the physical, chemical, and biological aspects of the subject. They have collaborated to oroduce a book which is readable and interestine to anvone with a modurnte scientific harkground. It comhines the lucidity of a guod texthook with the thoroughncs,of a sound reference work. Very few chemists h a w a, y c t devoted themselves to the study of the sea, except perhaps to its exploitation as a source of such valuable products as bromine and magnesium. Nevertheless, there is an enormous field of chemical interest in the sea as an environment for life, and this is the question involved in the work of most "oceanographic chemists," thus far. Two chapters ("Chemistry of Sea Water" and "Organisms and the Composition of Sea Water") are entirely devoted to the results of chemical investigations. The extent of the cooperation between chemistry and biology is seen from the fact that chemical work makes up much of the background for five other chapters: "The Sea a s a Biological Environment," "Phytoplankton in Relation to Physical-Chemical Properties of the Environment," "Animals in Relation t o Physical-Chemical Properties of the Environment," "Interrelations of Marine Organisms." and "Organic Production in the Sea." Also, a considerable portion of the chapter on "Marine Sedimentation" deals with chemical factors, particularly the deposition of calcium carbonate. When i t is remembered that two-thirds of the earth's surface is covered by the oceans and that probably three-fourths of the world's creatures live there, i t can be appreciated that here is a marine world in some ways more important than our terrestrial one. For the most part, chemical phenomena are the same in the two worlds, hut sometimes the applications of them are startlingly different. This book is a valuable addition to anyone's scientific library. The only fault likely t o he found with i t is the inadequacy of its index. he authors should be excused for tbis, perhaps, in view of the extensiveness of the field covered. N O m s W. RAKBSTRAW
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OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOOY. Maxim NewDIC~ONARY mark, Department of Modern Languages, Brooklyn Technical High School. Philosophical Lihrary, New Yark, 1943. VIII 386pp. 15 X 22.5cm. $6.00. This book is unusual in that the 10,000 English scientific and polytechnical terms defined are also listed in French. German. and Spanish.
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METALSAND ALLOYS DATABOOK. .Sarnud L.Hoyt. Reinhold Publishing Corporation. New York, 1943. 334 pp. 26 X 18 cm. $4.75. The purpose of this hook is clearly indicated in the opening sentences of the p r e f a c t W I nher book, 'Willard Gibhs,' Muriel Rukeyser states that 'one of the reasons that I wrote this hook was that I needed to read it.' The same holds with considerable emphasis for the present book and author. I n fact the hook is the direct outgrowth of an attempt to satisfy a desire of my o& t o accumulate reliable data on the metals." This desire has been admirably met by Dr. Hoyt, and the information is exactly what an engineer needs in selecting a metal for a particular purpose. The material, which is largely in the form of tables, charts, and curves, has been logically assembled from a number of reliable sources of published information as well as data from private sources not yet published. I t covers not only the conventional mechanical characteristics of the ferrous and non-ferrous alloys but also many special properties not available without reference to original articles. I t is not possible even to list all of these property tables but a few may be cited as indicating the scope of the book: Hot Hardness of Tool and Die Steels, End Quench (Jominy) Hardenability Data. Effect of Section Thickness, Properties of "Cold Drawn" Steel, Steel Plates for High-temperature Service, Effect of Strain Aging, Fatigue Strength of Copper Alloys, Corrosion Resistance of Caooer. . . . and manv other Dronerties. . . Thc reader who has had a limited experience in the sclcction of mctak ir urgrd to study the prcfnce with unusual cam, as in it Dr. lfoyl has industed clcnrly the limitation, in a n y sct of data and given many suggestions as to the proper use of tabulated information. The hook should be in the library of anyone who is concerned with the properties and uses of metals and alloys. ROBERTS. W ~ ~ l l p a s MASSACAUSRTTS INOTITOTB OP T B C ~ N O L O O Y C A H B R ~ C M&SSACR~SITS B.
ORoANrc CHEMISTRYS~PLIFIED. Rudolph Macy, Chemical Warfare Service, formerly Assistant Professor of Chemistry, University of Maine. Chemical Publishing Company. Inc., Brwklyn. New York, 1943. ix 431 pp. 15 X 23 cm. 83.75. Frequently a b w k is advertised as having a different approach to a subject, hut upon examination the difference shrinks almost to the vanishing point. This hook is more than just different; it is, so far a s the reviewer knows, unique. The hook is divided into four parts, of which the first two are primarily theoretical. Part 1 (pp. 1-56) discusses "The Unique Position of the Carbon Atom in Chemistry" and is devoted t o the development of the meaning of valence. This includes an elementary treatment of the structure of the atom, the periodic system, the various types of bonds (including the dative bond), dipole moments, and thedielectiveconstant. Part 2 (pp. 57-184) is on "The Architecture of Carbon Compounds." Topics discussed include morphology of chain and ring compounds, double and triple bonds, stereochemistry and isomerism, partial valence, bond energies, resonance, conjugated systems, structure of benzene, and a theoretical treatment of orientation. Part 3, entitled "The Classification of Carbon Compounds" (pp. 185-308), more nearly conforms t o the standard organic text in its treatment of the chemical nature of various types of structure. The approach of the author can be illustrated by the fact that it is in this section, after almost 200 pages of theoretical material, that the properties of an alcohol are first found. Part 4, "Special Topics in Organic Chemistry" (pp. 308416). gives something more than s glimpse of heterocycles, terpenes, proteins, carbohydrates, dyes, drugs, hormones, vitamins, isotook chemistm. .. and eiant molecules. The author's style is conversational. He speaks directly to the reader in a most informal manner. The book is easily read
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