book reviews
color photographs. The text is nearly errorfree and easy to follow. The price makes the hook an exceptional bargain Edward A. Waiiers
Uni-ify of New Mexico Albuquerque. NM 87131 ana terminology. The truly strong point is the many photographs from the telescopes of Skvlab: these are accomoanied bv clear eaoti& with unusually goad indexing of s'equential photographs of developing phenomena. The book begins with a general description of the sun as it was known from ground-based observations. Various layers of the sun are discussed from an historical point of view, while emphasis is made that each layer is characterized hy significantly different temperatures and therefore must he observed a t other than visible wavelengths. Most of these spectral regions (UV, vacuum UV, and X-ray) are inaccessible from the ground due to atmospheric interference so that an orbiting observatory affords the opportunity of exploring the sun in entirely new ways. Solar phenomena such as sunspots, flares, and prominences are described. Following these sections the eight principal solar telescopes are descrihed and the spectral regions to be explored by each are explained. The role the Skylah astronauts were expected to . ~ l. a and v the orohlems of doine experiments in a weightless environment are discussed. The remaining two-thirds of the book is by far the mo%tintriguing ond impressive because it consisL%ppredmninnntly ota m a ~ n i f icent set of photographs of solar activity as viewed through the telescopes. The organization of this portion is straightforward: it beeins - with observations of the UV and X-rav reeions of a auiescent sun and mover to the prominences, and spicules are shown, sometimes in impressionistic and other times in a ghostly presentation. The previously unohserved coronal holes are shown and discussed. Because the sky is black at the altitude of the Skylah orbit, it was possible to study the sun daily under conditions that are present only in fleeting instants of total eclipse to ground-hased observers. The photographs reveal changes in and structure of the outer corona that are parricularly fnseinot~ng. Thechapter un thenvtiverun is profusely S in the UV illustrawd with D ~ O ~ W I H D ~taken and X-rav soec&al re&s of the more short term, violent excurrims that hove occasionally been ohserved lrum the Earth's surface. Interesting comparative phutographs of active sites in different wavelength regions are shown and discussed. The birth, development, and finally death of flares were all documented and are shown in surrealistic ~ h o t o..e r.a ~ h sStrikine . .. nictures of solar prominences extending to distances of 600,Utl(1km and more are $how" as are phutographi of gigantic and rapid disturhnnccs of the corona. Although this hook does not deal directly with chemistry, the application of spectroscopy to examination ofdifferent segments of the sun because of their respective temperatures is a valuable illustration of fundamental principles. I t is very well-documented in this interesting volume. The book itself has a large format which works to the advantage of the many pages of
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A298 / Journal of Chemical Education
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were consideringpurchase of microcomputers or who were interested in opening computer stores. Editing and proofreading appear to have been lax. with numerous tvooeraohical .. errors such & two different spellings of "propagation" in Figure 1.15, and "Kermchan" for "Kernighan" i" the hihliography. A total of three pages are devoted to educational applications (involving the most rudimentary kind o f r d e drill, rompared with 15-20 DP. on hainms apvlirat~ons.Also. the material on interfacingis primarily devoted to connectine,. toeether vaiious oerioherals .. that would he used fm n htrsinesr ryqrem. Thrrr is no mentiun of instrtrm~nrrexreptto say that mnny use the IEEE-408 generalpurpose interface bus. For chemists with little knowledge of microcomputers this book provides an overview of the field hut sometimes jumps in too deeply to be comprehensible and sometimes glosses over important points. Those who are mare advanced will find some useful reference data hut much that is dated. My copy will reside on the bookshelf across the r w m from my microcomputer, hut I a m afraid that it will stay there most of the time while I consult other, more useful volumes.
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Personal Computing: Home, Professional, and Small Business Applicatlons D. R. McClynn, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1979. x + 263 pp. Figs. and Tables. 25 X 17.5 c i . $9.95. According to the preface, "Personal computing is the use of small, relatively inexpensive 'microcomputers' by individuals, professionals,or small businesses." The book is based on workshops on personal computing conducted throughout the United States and Canada by author MeGlynn and his colleagues. Chapters 1 and 2 describe what a personal computer is and compare various types of miCrocomputer systems.Chapters 3, 4, and 5 are an introduction to programming with major emphasis on BASIC. Chapters 6, 7, and 8 cover peripheral devices such as keyboards, printers, and mass storage devices as well as bus configurations and interfacing standards. Chapters 9 through 13are devoted to personal, professional, small-business, and future applications. The hook also contains appendices that list manufacturers of microprocessors, industrial microcomputers, personal computer systems and systems software, and small-business systems, as well as retail computer stores, computer cluhs, and professional organizations. There is a hibliomaphv. a short index, and a verv useful glossary: Personal Computing contains a good deal of useful information, especially with regard to the terminology and jargon of microcomputers. Much of this information is already available in this Journal, however. (See J. CHEM. EDUC., 56, 140 (1979); 56, 701 (1979); and other articles in the Computer Series.) Also, much of the information is dated, as would he expeetdd of any book in such a rapidly developing field. For example, Tahle 1.1 on pp. 10-13 purports to he a technical comparison of large, medium, mini., and microcomputer systems. The table is from the Haruard BusinessReuiew of MayJune 1975, a t which time the first personal computer system had only just seen the light of day. According to the. table, operating systems, time sharing, database management systems, applications packages, and program development aids such as debuggers are not available for microcomputer systems. Ohviously a great deal has happened since 1975-McGlynn even discusses the CP/M microcomputer operating system later in the hook-but Tahle 1.1and other parts of the text are sufficiently outdated to he misleading. The hook's other major fault is that it appears to have been thrown together from handwritten lecture notes intended for workshops involving businesspersons who
John W Mmre Eastern Michigan Universify Ypsilanfi. MI 48197 ~~
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Tunneling In Blologlcal Systems
Britton Chance, Don Charles Deuoult, Hans Frauenfelder, Rudolph A. Marcus, J . Robert Schrieffer, and Norman Sutin, (Editors), Academic Press, New York, 1979. v 758 pp. Figs. and tables. 23.5 cm X 16 cm. $42.00.
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This volume discloses the oroceedines " of
a svmoosium on Tunneline in Bioloeical "
S)Jemsheld in ~hllndclph!; Pmnsylvmia, ~~~
un N w ~ m h r 3-5, r 197-. Fitty-tw,. 1521pnprrs nre mcludrd within the Irrmd cntegorirq of tunneling in physical systems, tunneling in chemical systems, tunneling in photosinthetic systems, tunneling in the respiratory chain. tunneline in made1 bioloeical svstems. mole&r tunneling, and experimental ap:
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preaches.
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Gas Phase Ion Chemlsiry Michael T Bowers, (Editor), University of California at Santa Barbara, Academic Press, New York, 1979. xiii 354 pp. Figs. and tables. 16 X 23.5 cm. $39.50.
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The subject of these volumes has grown rapidly in importance to all hranches of chemistry aver the past decade. This situation has arisen because of the advancement
