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JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
ADVANCES IN CARBOHYDRATE CHEMISTRY VOLUME V Edited by Cloude S. Hudson,National Institute of nedth, B&. esda, Maryland, andSidney M. Contor, AmericanSugarRefining Company, Philadelphia. Academic Press, Inc., New York, 1950. ri t 322 -. DD. 31 fiss. 53 tables. 15.5 X 23.5 om. $6.80. 0
TAISfifth volume of the excellent series which is making available the recent knowledge concerning the carbohydrates holds to the same high standards of the preceding volumes. The emphsr sis is shifted somewhat toward the biochemical with four sections concerned with enzyme activity: Enzyme Synthesis of Sucrose and Other Disaccharides, Principles Underlying E n ~ y m eSpecificity in the Domain of Carbohydrates, Enzymes Acting on Peatic Substances, and Action of Certain Alpha Amylases. Other motions are primarily concerned with detailed m d specialized a s p ~ c t of s carbohydrate chemistry: Applications in the Carhohydrat,e Field of Reductive Desulfurieation by Raney Nickel, The Methyl Ethers of D-Glucose, and Anhydrides of Pentitols and Hexitols. Of somewhat mare general interest are the sections on The Relative Crystallinity of Celluloses, The Commercial Production of C~ystallineDextrose, and Xylan. In the present volume of the series Dr. Claude S. Hudson and Dr. Sidney M. Cantor tske over as editors from Professor W.W. Pigman and Professor M. L. Wolfrom who so capably edited the e d i w volumes. No great change of editorial policy is proposed. The retiring as well as the new editors deserve great praise for their inestimable service in making available to teachers, students, and specialists this series of "critical, integrating reviews." IRWIN B. DOUGLASS OFr MAINE U~w~nsm ORONO.MAIVE
FLUORESCENCE AND PHOSPHORESCENCE Peter Pringsheim, Argonne National Laboratory, Chicago, Illinois. lntersciencs Pubhhers, Inc., New York. 1949. xvi T 794 pp. 219 figs. 149 tables. 16 X 23.5 cm. $15. FLUORE~CENCE and phosphorescenoe are among the mast fascinating phenomena to observe, for a layman and a physicist alike; and yet these fields of physics have been-and still a r e rather neglected in physical training and research. (The same, incident,slly, is true of photochemistry-the branch of chemistry for whioh fluorescence is of greatest significance.) Until the appearance of fluorescent lighting, the exploration of these areas has been left to comparstively few devotees; among them, Profemor Pringsheim is easily the must distinguished and most persevering. His first papers on the fluorescence of iodine vspor appeared in 1921; they were soon followed by an important monograph "Fluorescence and Phosphorescence in the Light of the New Theory of Atomic Structure." At that time, precise study of the fluorescence of gases had acquired great importance as a means of verification and extension of Bohr's theory of spectra. For several years resonance fluorescence, sensitized fluorescence of gases and vapors, quenching of fluorescence by magnetic fields or molecular collisions, and similar topics, remained the subject of intense experimentation and thooretiod analysis. Pringsheim and his pupils, and the many visitors from other countries who came to his laboratory a t the University of Berlin, contributed much to the pioneering work in these fields; and Pringsheim's monograph became immediately upon its publicrttion-and has remained ever s i n c e t h e mast authoritative summary of the twin phenomena of fluoresence and phosphoresenee in their relation to atomio and molecular structure. As the quantum theory of a t o m and simple gas molecules b e came "oammon textbook knowledge," the interest in gas flu* wscence receded; and yet, today, in reading the chapters of Pringsheim's enlarged English version of the "Fluorescence and I'hhosphorescenoe," one not merely relives the thrill of 25 years ago, when Bohr's intuition suddenly threw light into previously mysterious jungles of spectroscopy, hut also recognizes how many
interesting phenomena have remained unexplored, how many promising threads have never been followed. In recent years, the most active interest has been in thr luminescence of solids, for two reasons. In the first l lace, fluorescence and phosphorescence phenomena offer useful approaches to the understanding of the electronic structure of condensed systems-of the interaction of atoms in them, the motion of electrons, and the exchange of excitation quanta. I n the second place, rapidly spreading practical utilization of fluorescent light led to hroadening and multiplication of research, as is usual when a previously "academic" phenomenon is recognized as the basis of economically important developments. Profes~or Pringsheim has acknowledged this new emphasis by enlarging ronsiderahly the second part of his monograph, dealing with condensed systems. This part now occupies380 pages, considerably more than the 250 which are devoted, in Part 1, to gases and vapors. However, even in the field of solid phosphors the book retains the approach of s. physicist with primarily scientific interest, rather than of an engineer concerned msinly with technical applications of luminescence. It makes one sommhat nostalgic to see a slim rponograph, of which workers in the field of luminescence once studied every page, transformed into a. thick volume, which few will he able to read from cover to cover; hut this metamorphosis could hardly b w e been w i d e d . In fact, the reviewer wishes-for personal reasons-thst the fluorescence of dyestuffs (and other organic: materials in solution) had been treated by Professor Pringsheim more extensively. The theoretical sections of Pringsheim's book are presented simply and clearly, unencumbered by mathematical apparatus. That the monograph is dedicated to Professor James Franck is fitting because it shows the spirit of the latter's "Gottingen School," which, 25 years ago, pioneered in dealing with electrons, a t o m , and molecules as concrete, familiar particles, rather than as imaginary entities (u-hioh'they were before), or as unimaginable mathematied abstractions (which they have tended to hecome later). One original feature of the monograph is worth mentioning. Instead of the oonventional (and unrevealing) author's index, an extensive, alphabetically arranged hibliographioal list of almost 2000 consecutively numbered references is provided a t the end of the hook; it is followed by a tahle, showing the pages in the book on whioh discussion of material from any given paper in the index can he found. This two-step reference system may s o m e what bewilder a casual user of the book; but after a little while, one discovers its great economy and convenience. E. RABINOWITCH U~rvenSrTYOF I ~ ~ L I N O I S
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IG~INOIS
THE YOUNG SCIENTIST Moitland P. Simmons, Science Deparhnent, Irvington High School, New Jersey. The Exposition Press, Inc., New York, 1951. viii 164 pp. 35 figs. 14 X 22 cm. $3.
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THISis a science activity text that will stimulate activity in the science classroom and the student's initiative. Mr. Simmons has tested these activities himself and designed them to give the principles of natural scienre through meaningful laboratory work. The equipment required for these experiments is of the kind found in the school laboratory and the illustrated directions present the activity in a clear, forceful way. Mr. Simmons is known for his enthusiasm and creative work in the science clssroom. This text will sfford opportunities for the young scientists in the eighth and ninth grades to catch some of this enthusiasm and apply it to their own creative work. The questions stimulate t h r activities. ORETA OPPE BALLHIGHsc"ooo G*,,YEBTON, T E X * ~
