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NEW ROOKS
NEW BOOKS A Dictionary of Metals and their Alloys. First edition. By F. J. CAMM.245 pp. New York: The Chemical Publishing Company, Inc., 1939. Price: $3.00. The author, apparently not a metallurgist, has had considerable experience in writing books in engineering, mechanics, wireless, etc., from the practical side. His Dictionary of Metals is written for the layman, in alphabetical fashion, but i t should not be classed as an unabridged edition, because the book is very brief and of service only to the practical man for whom i t is written. Many of the definitions are short, elementary, and wrong from the metallurgical standpoint. The list of alloys for different classes of metals is not, too extensive, but should serve a useful purpose for shop men. The author also has short treatises on plating, polishing, hardening and tempering, coloring, metal spraying, and rust-proofing, and includes tables on physical properties of materials which can be found elsewhere. If one is interested in a more complete list of alloys, your abstractor refers you to Engineering Alloys by Woldman and Dornblatt (American Society for Metals, Cleveland, Ohio, 1936, 622 pp.; price, $10.00). If Mr. Camm’s book is a dictionary, Engineesing Alloys is an encyclopedia. RALPHL. DOWDELL.
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Theoretical and Applied Electrochemistry. Third edition. By MAURICEDE KAY THOMPSON. xxi 535 pp.; 235 fig. New York: The Macmillan Company. Price:
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$5.00.
The format of the third edition of this text follows that adopted in the second edition, devoting one hundred and eighty some pages to “Theoretical Electrochemistry,” one hundred and ninety-two pages t o “Applied Electrochemistry of Aqueous Solutions,” and ninety-nine pages to “Electric Furnaces and their Products.” Twenty-one pages are devoted to the solution of problems. From the foregoing statement it is obvious that an adequate treatment of the principal topics necessitates masterly condensation to keep within the space allotted. Hasty perusal of the volume invites the opinion that it is characterized by overcondensation. Such judgment is quite unjustified when one becomes aware of the comprehensive number of original references included and the bibliography and problems at the end of each of the twenty-one separate chapters. One shduld also realize that the use of the book aa a text presumes that the student has completed a thorough course in physical chemistry, and that the theoretical section aims to serve as a review, placing emphasis upon the theory underlying the applications discussed in the succeeding sections. The author has obviously received abundant cooperation from industry. This is evidenced in the large number of facts included which have been privately communicated and in the generous number of hitherto unpublished illustrations and original line drawings which could not have been provided otherwise. The volume is intended for use as a text and not a reference work, and on that basis the omission of topics such as electronics, electrostatic and magnetic separation, photoelectric phenomena, and polarographic analysis may be justified. In the preface to the original edition the statement is made:-“It is believed that, by collecting in a single volume the material that would be comprised in a course aiming to give an account of the most important electrochemical industries, as well as the principal applications of electrochemistry in the laboratory, it will be possible to teach the subject much more satisfactorily.” Dr. Thompson deserves distinct commendation for his success in attaining an objective which the writer recognizes aa a most difficult task. HIRAMS. LUKENS.
