NEWS
Industrial Spectroscopy Boston College has announced a spe cial 2-week intensive course in modern industrial spectroscopy from July 12 to 23. The course is particularly de signed for chemists and physicists from industries in the process of installing spectrographs equipment. Informa tion on the course can be obtained from James J. Devlin, S.J., Physics Depart ment, Boston College, Chestnut Hill 67, Boston, Mass.
Instrumental Chemical Analysis Two special summer programs in instrumental chemical analysis to en able chemists in industry and govern ment laboratories to study the applica tion of new instrumental techniques and methods in applied analytical chemistry will be given at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Aug. 16 to 20 and Aug. 23 to 27. The first will deal with electrical methods and the second with optical methods. Both programs will be under the di rection of David N . Hume and Lockhart B. Rogers, who are in charge of the institute's Instrumental Analysis Lab oratory. Tuition for each program will be $100. Further information is avail able from the Summer Session Office, Room 7-103, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 39, Mass. Other summer programs at M I T in clude technique and applications of infrared spectroscopy, transistors and their applications, analog computation, and digital computers.
involved in the analyses. The 24 cat ions commonly selected by most au thors are considered. Tests for 28 anions are given. In addition, direc tions for the systematic analysis of solids for both cations and anions are presented. The reviewer is most impressed by the following points: Thioacetamide is used as a source of hydrogen sulfide; many excellent review questions and problems follow each chapter; all equa tions used in the schemes of analysis and all the reactions of the anions and cations are summarized in clear, read able tables; many tables for prepara tion of reagents and of constants useful in the theory are included in the 15 appendexes; and a very complete index is given. The reviewer notes, however, the lack of any redox theory (this is pre sumed to have been covered in general chemistry); the use of many organic reagents for confirmatory tests (most students have not had organic chemistry by the time they take qualitative anal ysis); and the adherence to the usual 24 cations in spite of the present impor tance of such elements as beryllium, titanium, molybdenum, vanadium, and tungsten. The line drawings, binding, and print ing are excellent. This book should serve as a very useful text.
LYNNE L. MERRITT, J R . , Indiana
University, Bloomington, Ind. This revised edition employs the pres sure bulb method of filtration intro duced in the first edition, but directions also allow the use of the centrifuge or filter paper if one so desires. There are three introductory chapters giving an excellent review of calculations in volving molarity, normality, equivalent weights, balancing equations, and defi nitions of terms. Two more chap ters concern general aspects of labora tory work. There follow 20 chapters giving the actual laboratory directions with preliminary experiments for each group, the analytical procedure for each group, and a discussion of the equilibria
V I T R E O S I L ® (v itreous
silica)
tubing has numerous de sirable characteristics so i m p o r t a n t f o r p r o d υ c-
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An Atlas. Konrad Dobriner, E. R. Katzenellenbogen, and R. N. Jones. xiv + 299 pages. Interscience Pub lishers, Inc., 250 Fifth Ave., New York 1, Ν . Υ., 1953. $11.50. Re Chemical Co., Midland, Mich.
Semimicro Qualitative Analysis. Hervey H. Barber and T. Ivan Taylor. Revised ed. xi + 404 pages. Harper and Bros., New York, Ν. Υ., 1953. Price $4.50. Reviewed by
EXACTING REQUIREMENTS
Infrared Absorption Spectra of Steroids.
viewed by NORMAN WRIGHT, DOW
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The infrared method has had such success in general chemical analysis during the past decade that it is not surprising to find it making a spectacular entry into the field of medical chemistry. While the method has been thought less applicable to biological compounds be cause of the generally low solubility in nonpolar solvents, very valuable work has begun to appear in which the ma terials are observed as solids, or certain classes of more soluble compounds are observed as dilute solutions. An oftenheard complaint, however, of those using the infrared method or those aware of its great power and wishing to use it, concerns the hampering scarcity of published spectra of pure compounds. "Infrared Absorption Spectra of Ster oids" takes a giant step toward alleviat ing this difficulty in the case of steroid hormones, their metabolites and deriva tives, steroid alcohols, sapogenins, alka loids, bile acid esters, and cardiac aglycones, by providing an atlas of infrared
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THE THERMAL SYNDICATE LTD. 14 BIXLEY HEATH LYNBROOK, Ν . Υ.
29 A