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NEW BOOKS Physico-Chemical Constants of Pure Organic Compounds. By JEAN TIMMERMANS. Translation of the original French text into English by GEOFFREY MIDDLETON. 15.5 x 23 om.; viii 693 pp. New York: Elsevier Publishing Company, 1950. Price: $12.50. As stated by Prof. Timmermans, “The present work is among the fruits of a quarter of a century’s activity of the International Bureau of Physico-Chemical Standards, and combines the results obtained in their laboratories with those provided by a systematic harvesting of the whole of the chemical literature up to January 1, 1950.” It is noteworthy that, although perhaps a million organic compounds have now been recognized in the patent and academic literature, the subject index of this book contains approximately fifteen hundred entries. This is due to the fact that only “a few thousands of compounds of particular interest have been the subject of numerous and careful determinations; an enormous number must be rejected because so few measurements are satisfactory, both with regard t o the purity of the sample and the accuracy of the method of physical measurement which has been used.” I n the first sixteen pages a basis is laid for an understanding of the numerical data which follow. The object of the work, criteria of purity, rules employed to assess the accuracy and precision of the published values of constants, arrangement of the text, and notes concerning symbols and units are all adequately discussed. Fourteen tables of data make up the body of the text and include data on (1) hydrocarbons, (8) halogenated derivatives, (3) oxygenated derivatives of the aliphatic series, (4) oxygenatedderivatives of the aromatic series, (6)oxygenated derivatives of polymethylenes, (6) heterocyclic oxygen compounds, (7)sugars, (8) mixed oxyhalogenated derivatives, ( 9 ) nitrogen derivatives of the aliphatic series, ( 1 0 ) nitrogen derivatives of the cyclic series, (If) oxy-nitrogen derivatives, (18) mixed halogenated nitrogen derivatives, (13) sulfur derivatives, (14) derivativeswith other elements. I n addition there is to be found a formula index, a carefully compiled list of about thirteen hundred references, and an errata containing seven items. There is probably no other single volume in the chemical literature which contains such a wealth of data of this kind so critically compiled. Results obtained on Project No. 44 (American Petroleum Institute) dealing with spectra of hydrocarbons have not been reproduced in the present work. Professor Timmermans and his colleagues have done chemists the world over a great service in extracting from a gigantic literature these gems of precision and accuracy. Indeed, his own experimental work and critical viewpoint might well serve as a model for others t o follow. Every library associated with an academic or industrial chemical laboratory should possess a copy of this fine book. R. T. ARNOLD.
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Unit Operafions.By G. G . BROWN, A. S. FOUST,D. L. KATZ,R. SCHNEIDEWIND, R . R. WHITE, W. P. WOOD,J . T. BANCHERO, G . M. BROWN, L. E . BROWNELL, J. J. MARTIN, G. B. WILLIAMS,A N D J. L . YORK.8t x 11 in.; double-column pages; 612 pp. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1950. Price: $7.50. It will be pleasure and an exciting adventure for either the student or the professional engineer t o read and study this fir& edition of Unit Operations. Dr. George G . Brown and his associates a t the University of Michigan have presented a clear comprehensive treatment of the subject, dividing the material into four basic groups: I . Solids, 11. Fluids, 111. Separation by Mass Transfer, the Ideal Stage Concept, IV. Energy and Mass Transfer Rates. The type is easily read, the illustrations and diagrams are cleancut and distinctive, and the charts are large enough t o be accurately useful. I n the preface the authors state that “the object of the book is t o build the student’s knowledge and power progressively and continuously until he has a reasonably clear concept of how to approach the problems of design and operation of processing equipment.
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The unit operations are grouped according t o similarities in action or in methods of calculation and presented in sequence according to increasing difficulty.” This arrangement does not follow the conventional pattern pursued in previous texts treating similar material, but the handling of the topics is stimulating. The underlying conception of the purposes in writing the book is stated as follows: “A study of the unit operations is just as valuable t o the operating engineer as to the designer, since all industrial operations, or plants, are composed physically of a series of unit operations in their proper sequence. The ability or capacity of a plant is no greater than that of its weakest unit. The operator analyzes his complex operations into units for individual improvement, and the designer synthesizes complex operations from a number of unit operations. By studying the unit operations themselves and their functions the engineer is trained t o recognize these functions in new industrial processes; and by applying his knowledge and skill in the corresponding unit operations, he is able t o design, construct and operate a plant for a new process with almost as much confidence as for a proved process.” Whether one is a beginning student or a practicing engineer, he wishes to know when t o use a certain piece of equipment, where t o place it, how it will work best, what it will do, and why it operates as i t does. The authors have assumed that when one studies a unit operation-to learn the basic principles, t o see illustrations of equipment which will do the work, and to know approximately what capacities are commonly available-one will have gone a long way toward a well-rounded appreciation of the requirements of the problem. While it is impossible in one text to accomplish all this, nevertheless all these facets are sufficiently lighted so that entire problems can be adequately seen and appreciated. Informative literature references stimulate interest in the contents of each chapter. I n a book of over six hundred pages, it is impractical to give detailed comments on each section, but these general impressions will indicate the scope of the work. I . Solids: This section, well illustrated, treats materials in the solid state, including a broad variety of details on screening, size reduction, and handling, conveying, and weighing. Problems are well chosen and the new section on energy requirements clearly illustrates the use of Rittinger’s law. 11. Fluids: The section on fluids is adequately handled in fifteen chapters. One progresses from the properties of fluids, to the flow of solids through fluids, t o classification. This subject, aptly illustrated and described, is followed by an excellent chapter on flotation, with informative calculations. Sedimentation principles are well presented. Pipes and fittings for fluid transport are introduced a t this point. The section on Energetics of Fluid Transfer is based on broad basic principles. The large friction charts, easily read, will help solve the long list of problems presented. A chapter on fluid meters is followed by one on centrifugal pumps and compressors with unusual illustrations and diagrams. The subject of gas flow a t high velocity precedes t h a t of the flow of fluids through porous media, either by single-fluid or by two-fluid phases. I n filtration various filters are described from informative halftones and diagrams, together with an exceptional development of filter calculations. Centrifugation, both batch and continuous, naturally follows filtration. A short chapter on the fluidization of solids covers a lot of ground and shows calculations fo,r pressure drop and transportation of fluidized dispersed solids. 111. Separation by Mass Transfer: The authors compare the performance of actual stages with the performance of an ideal stage based on calculations involving material and energy balances combined with phase equilibrium relationships. The effect of rate of transfer is expressed as a stage efficiency, actual t o ideal. I n the chapter on solid-liquid extraction, graphical solutions are employed as a means of solving problems, and liquid-liquid extraction is adequately treated in a similar way. I n the section on vapor-liquid transfer operations calculations with the enthalpy-composition diagram are introduced and explained in detail. The chapter on design and control of fractionating columns is outstanding. The cnlculation of ideal stages assuming constant molal overflow includes binary and
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multicomponent systems, while the chapter on distillation and condensation treats simple distillation, batch distillation, vacuum and steam distillation, and azeotropic and extractive distillation. A chapter on adsorption completes this section of the book. Equipment, operating variables, and methods of calculation for ideal stages are outlined. I\‘. Energy and Mass Transfer Rates: “The time rate with which energy or mass is transferred from one stream t o another determines the size of equipment required t o accomplish a specified result in a specified time. The rate of transfer equals the product of a “transfer coefficient,” “the area of contact,” and “the drop in potential.” The first five chapters in this section comprise heat transfer and evaporation. After introducing the subject by describing heat transfer equipment, the theory and formulation are outlined for steady-state and unsteady-state conditions. Discussion of transfer coefficients between fluids and tubes includes fluids of high conductivity, such as molten metals. The subject of condensing vapors and boiling liquids is handled in a n interesting manner, and is well illustrated in a brief but adequate way. A consideration of radiation and radiant heat transfer completes this portion of the book. The chapter on evaporation follows a conventional pattern, but the discussion of heattransfer coefficients in evaporation is quite brief and might be amplified. The chapter on crystallization is brief, and more emphasis might be given t o the discussion of crystallization rates. A short chapter on agitation serves as a n introduction to this subject. The last four chapters of the book deal with mass transfer. “Mass Transfer. I” shows the analogy between momentum, heat, and mass transfer. “Mass Transfer. 11” gives coefficients in packed towers and treats gas-phase coefficients, distillation concepts, and liquid-liquid extraction coefficients. Adequate sections on psychrometry and drying complete the treatment of mass transfer. This book will be welcomed by all engineers who appreciate well-written authoritative statements of the principles of unit operations, with suggested practices all neatly tied together with graphs, charts, tables, and illustrative problems. GEORGEH. MONTILLON.
New Atoms. Progress and Some Memories. By OTTOHAHN.184 pp. S e w York: Elsevier Publishing Company, 1950. Price: $1.75. This account of the past fifty years of atomic science and radioactivity by the distinguished discoverer of fission has an interest not only to those directly engaged in this field but also t o all who will welcome a personal account of one of the greatest-if not the greatest-discovery of all times. For surely none can doubt, the influence of atomic fission on science and on all human affairs. Hahn’s approach t o the subject is a simple factual one. The papers comprising the volume, as edited by Dr. W. Gaade of Amsterdam, are divided into four parts. The first is the address which Hahn gave on the occasion of the belated award of the Nobel Prize t o him in 1946. I n this address he reviewed his long and careful series of investigations, following t h e initial work of Fermi, which convinced Hahn and Strassman that barium is produced by bombarding uranium with neutrons. At the same time full credit is given t o Meitner and Frisch for the elucidation of the process and for the introduction of the term “fission.” Winnowed from the mass of experimental details this account has a clarity and direct sequence which naturally the original German papers lacked. The second section on the chain reaction of uranium carries the subject from the first experiments of Rutherford on artificial transmutation, through artificial radioactivity of Joliot-Curie and the discovery of the neutron b y Chadwick t o plutonium, uranium 235, t h e chain reaction and its application in power reactors and the bomb, with brief reference t o the hydrogen bomb. Some duplication of part of the first section is unavoidable. The third part, on artificial elements, is divided into two categories: the four elements (43, 61, 85 and 87) which fill vacancies in the periodic system below uranium, and the six (93 t o 98) transuranium elements. This section will be especially prized by the busy reader,
