T n s INTERPRETATION OR THE ATOM. Frednick Soddy. M.A., F.R.S., Dr. Lee's Professor of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry. 1921. G. P. Putnam's Sons, 355 pp. 75 Figs. 14 X 22 New York City, 1932. xviii Un. $5.00.
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This volume is primarily a revision of "The Interpretation of Radium." I n Part I "The Radioactive Elements and Isotopes" are dearly and thoroughly discussed by one who has contributed much to our knawledee of this field. The oresentation is not so connected ns would seem desirable. partly hcczuw the continuity is broken by frequent interpositions of extraneous material and occasional outbursts against recent trends in physics, such as the remark that "even the physicist is heing subordinated to the modern transcendental mathematician and his strange ways of economizing, not to say avoiding, thought." Part I1 is entitled "The General Progress of Atomic Chemistry." Those topics which are closely related to the subject matter of Part I are treated quite thoroughly and well; most others are discussed rather superficially. I n the reviewer's opinion such subjects as "The Structure and Spectrum of the Atom" and "The Periodic Table" would be much better treated in introductory chapters leading up to the p i k e de resistuncc. These could also include much of the "non-radioactive" material now in Part I. With the present arrangement the book can hardly be recommended as an introduction to the subject. Much of Part I1 is devoted to the expression of the author's scepticism regarding the Bohr theory, relativity theory, and wave mechanics, "a weird magic which hardly even pretends t o be mathematics." The reviewer remains unconvinced. The plaint that the new point of view "has not yet succeeded in giving us any consistent or complete mental picture in place of the older and more mechanical views" does not alter the fact that the newer theorie, of mathematical physics (and chemistry) xrc real advancei. heing in ljettcr accord with known facts of ohserrntion and experiment then previous theoric5 In the constant search for a truer and more complete picture, mathematics is sometimes a better guide than imagination. I n such cases the mental picture may lag far behind the mathematical expressions for the laws governing the phenomena. This is true with wave mechanics. There is mod reason to believe however that before long we shall ha\.e 3 picture more complrtc m d mars consistent than ever and, in come reipccts at lea.;t. more simplc and more "reasonable." On the other hand it is well to be reminded that many of the conceptions which, a t one time or another, have been generally concurred in by the scientific world have later been superceded by very different ideas. Usually these who first propose new theories are themselves aware of their tentative nattxe and limited applicability, hut others who later extend, apply or teach these theories often lose sight of the limitations. (This is particularly trne of elementary textbook writers, where simplicity and teachability often are considered more important than scientific accuracy.) Professor Soddy proposes to substitute for the accepted ideas as to light emission and propagation the hypothesis that light will not "travel except in directions occupied a t bath ends by matter." Mast physicists and astronomers will probably be as skeptical of this hypothesis as Professor Soddy is of others. He also enunciates a "Principle of Symmetry," that "there is a marked tendency for the atom to assume the greatest possible symmetry as regards the number of electrons in the successive shells." The reviewer does not believe that such a tendency exists. The supposed balancing of the K electrons by two valence electrons especially seems like stretching the facts to fit the theory. Several minor criticisms will he briefly mentioned. Professor Soddy, in common with many other writers, describes the Lewis theory of atomic structure in terms of the long-discredited cubic atom, although the evidence in favor of a tetrahedral rather than a cubical distribution is quite conclusive. I n writing Lewis "dot formulas" the dots representing shared valence electrons are replaced by plus signs, a change which is certain to find little
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favor. Sidgwick is given credit for the explanation of secondary valence compounds in terms of the Lewis theorr. althoueh this same explan&ion had oreviouslv been eiven hv k s .. h v - ~ a n r muir, a i d by this reviewer. 1n-s disc&sion of crystal latticesa (011) face is incorrectly designated (110) and certain interplanar distances are given as d\/2and &rather than their reciprocals. MAURICE L. HUOOINS
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T m Joalrs HoPnlrs UNIYB~UTY BALTIUOAB, MAIYLAND
P0pm.m SCIENCE TALKS. VOL. 9. IVO? Grifllh, Editor. Published by Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Sdences, under the auspices of the American Journal qf Pharmacy, Philadelphia, Penna., 1932. 319 pp. 15 X 23 em. $1.W. The ninth volume of this popular series of talks, by members of the faculty of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science compares very favorably with its predecessors. Among the articles which would interest students and teachers of chemistrv are: "Food Poisoning and Poisonous Foods" by Chas. H. Lawall. "Silicon-The Element of a Thousand Uses" by Arno Viehaever. "Hum and Bug" (an article exposing many of the popular patent medicines) by Adley B. Nichols. "Radioactivity" by George Rosengarten. "What Is Gas" by Freeman P. Stroup. "Cows' Milk and Human Milk" by Louis Gershenfeld. "The Story of Alcohol" by C. C. Pines. "Liquid Death" (an article on nitroglycerin) by Paul Q. Card. "Under the Lime Tree" (the lime heing CaO) by George Wesley Perkins. As the foreword says, this book makes an "appropriate gift for students, preceptors, physicians, school and fraternity libraries." ~
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OP WOOD. Henry K. Benson, ChairCAEMICAL UTILIZATION man, Division of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, National Research Council, Washington, D. C. U. S. Governhv ment Printiie Office. Washineton. D. C.. 1932. (For- sale - the superintendent af ~ocu&ts, Washington. D. C.) 1 5 pp. 15 X 23 cm. $0.15. This handbook, providing up-to-date information concerning chemistry in woad utilization, has been recently released by the National Committee on Wood Utilization (Axel H . O%holm, Director) of the U. S. Dept. of Commerce. Beginning with a brief description of wood as a raw material and its physical properties and chemical composition, the report deals primarily with the different chemical processes and the products resulting. Wood pulp, naval stores, wood distillation products and the utilization of by-products are given exhaustive treatment. With each chapter a valuable list of references to existing technical literature is included.
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