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properties of liquids, had until recently appeared. The recent work of Eyring, Altar, and others suggests t h a t a good s t a r t has now been made in this direction; i t is unfortunate t h a t Eyring’s contribution to the Discussion was not of a more general and less mathematical nature. Eyring’s idea is t h a t a liquid contains a considerable number of holes. The total number of degrees of freedom in a liquid may be divided into a number of smaller groups, and each of the small groups is supposed t o maintain a small spherical cavity in the liquid, the liquid surrounding the hole as if i t n-ere an incompressible fluid, so t h a t the laws of hydrodynamics may be applied. The state of motion of a liquid on this basis depends on the total surface, composed of all the internal boundary surfaces. Whilst such ideas may be physically a little crude, they are a t the present time allowing partition functions to be expressed, which is a considerable advance in the statistical theory of liquids. Bernal in his paper extends the ideas and possibilities of the distribution function of x-ray analysis, and, whilst rigor is disclaimed, his paper is extremely suggestive and valuable on the structural side. The valuable papers of London and Simon should also be mentioned. Raman spectra of liquids are discussed by hIagat, and the reduced temperature scale is used with effect by Bauer, RIagat, and Surdin in a general discussion of properties. The general quality of the papers in this volume is very high, and perhaps enough has been written to indicate t h a t both the quality and the interest of the work contributed are also very high. J. T. RANDALL. Verofentltchungen aus dem Katser Wzlhelm-Institut fur Silikaijorschung in BerlinDahlem. 30 x 21 cm.; pp i 188. Braunschaeig: Fr. Vieweg und Sohn, 1937. The practice of issuing the collected papers pertaining to research on silicates from Dr. Eitel’s laboratory continues, and the present volume contains the published work of 1936. Such a practice must always lead t o volumes and parts of volumes of unequal merit. Eighteen papers are collected together, and mention of a few of the more interesting only will be made: Bussem and R e y l discuss the structure of glass in a useful survey paper covering physicochemical work, as well as the more recent x-ray work. T. v. Takats discusses the reaction of silicates with sulfur dioxide; W. Eitel writes on the sillimanite-mullite problem; Bussem discusses the water content of various hydrated calcium sulfates; and Haegermann and Schweite have investigated certain cements used for street buildings. W.Eitel and Oberlies write on the properties of glass fibers. J. T. R.4NDALL.
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Atomic Structure and Atomic Spectra. By G. HERZBERG. English translation by J. W. Spinks n i t h the cooperation of the author. 257 pp ; 80 fig. New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1937. The topic covered in this volume is clearly indicated in the title. The treatment is most concise and matter of fact. To this end the author has not included i n the text any complicated mathematical developments, but he has stated the needed propositions simply and 15ithout proof. For example, the famous expression of the hydrogen series is gi\en on p. 11 without any detailed and cumbersome dcrivation. This form of treatment makes the book very readable to the informed individual, for i t furnishes a compact summary of the field under discussion. Hoveever, the beginning student TTill have t o supplement his study of the subject by further reading of other work where the topics are treated on a more analytical basis. The modern views of atomic structure are introduced a t once in the first chapter by a brief formu-
