NEW BOOKS . u ABR.I\ISOS, EIFcfropliorcsis ( i j 1’votcin.s arid [ h e Chcmislry c!f Cell Sfcrfacts. I3y I ~ . ~ H o I.I. L.4CHEXCE s. MOYER..\SI) l I . \ S U E L H . G O R I S , 6 S ‘3 i n . ; 341 p p ; 155 fig. s e w y o l k : Reinhold Publishing (’orporatioii. 1942. Price: 96.00. Dr. ;\hraiiisuii is ;\ssist;int Professor of Physiology iii the (’ollcge of Physicians nncl Fui.geoiis, (‘iJ~l1iiibi:iLTiiiversity. :ind .issocinte iii Mediciiic in the l l o u n t Sinai Hospital, S c w T o r k . Dr. l l o y e r , until his iintiinely cleatli in t h e senlice of his country in the 1:rtc spring of 1042, \vas ;\ssistniit Professor of Botany a t t h e 17niversity of hlinnesota. D r . Gorin is (‘hemica1 Research Puper\-isor iii the Field Research 1kp:trt nicnt of the llagnolin Petroleum (’ompaiiy. 1)allas. .\lthough the immediate interests of tlicsc inen have differed, they h a r e collahorated o n occasion slid inany of the nuiiierous rcferences in tlie book h e w their names. T h e diversity of tlie tr;iiniiig a n d backgrounds i,f the :tuthors has given them an unusual opportunity t o n-rite a n authoritative treatisc dealing with all phases of electrophoresis. T h e haste with wliieh :t book devoted to such a rapidly tlcveloping field of knowledge must be asseinhlcd in order t h a t it n o t be too far out of d a t e :tt t h e time of publication probably explains why this opportunity bas n o t been fully utilized. T h e topics discussed by thc nrithors a r c indicated by t h e chapter headings: general principles of electric niigration in liquids; experiments in t h e nineteenth century; methods; dissolved and adsorbed proteins a n d related surfaces; electrokinetic theory a n d migration of charged particles; electric inohility ant1 t h e calculatioii of the n e t charge; seruiii aiid plasma; antibodies, antigens aiid their rcactions; interactions of proteiiis in mixtures; interactions of proteins a t surfaces; enzymes a n d hornioncs; niiscellaneous electrophoretic investigations of biological interest; l a t e x ; aiid surface chciiiistry of cells. T h e early chapters of t h e book are well ivritten, a n d bear evidence of logical a n d critical thinking on t h e p a r t o f t h e authors. T h e discussion of nietliotls includes a n excellent description of t h e specinl theory a n d use of the fiat type of iiiicroelectrophoresis cell, a brief description of other types of niicrocell, a n d a discussion of t h e moving-boundary technic. T h e latter discussion, while helpful, is ileither :is clear nor :is coniplete as some of t h e descriptions published by other authors. T h e excellent chapter oil clectrokinetic theory is devoted largely to a n outline of t h e Debye-Huckel-Henry theory a n d t o Gorin’s interesting extension of this theory for particles of different shapes a n d for ions of finite size. .\ review of t h e aiithors’ work on tlic relation of electrophoretic mobility t o titration curves is presented in t h e following chapter. T h e l a t t e r half of the book is a review of the nuiiierous electroj~liorcticstudies t o be fount1 in t h e literature. This portion is difficult t o read, partly hceause of the great diversity of t h e systems considered. and partly bccause inany of t h e elcctrophoretic results reported have no known correlation with the other properties of t h e systcni under s t u d y . This section woultl have heen improved had t h e a u t h o r s differentiated those studies t h a t m r e carried out with great care in order t o demonstrate t h e abilities and limitations of the electrophoretic method froin those t h a t ivcre cnriied out incident t o t h e broader investigation of a particular su1,staiice or mixture. At worst, however, this portion of tlie hook contains a fairly coniplete list of references U ~ Jt o t h e inidtile of 3041. Proof reading apparently was done hastily, arid n ~ ~ n i e i ~ obvioiis ous crrors \vi11 be evident t o the wader. One of t h c niost unfortunate of these is t h e omission of a diagram of the l’hilpot-Svenson optical system, which is almost essential for :in understanding of t h e principles of the method. T h e liinding is red cloth with gold lettering. T h c typogr:iphy :tiid ;xiper are good. Most of the one hundred fifty-five illustrations arc graphs or line dr:iwiiizs. Author anti subject indices are included. Since n o volnnie written about :I rapidly cliniigiiig a n d expxii(Iing tield ( J f knowledge can he definitior. snnie of t h e faults noted above prohably sliould be overlooked. tTndoubtedly this hook will he welcomed h y those who have had no firsthand experience with electroi t o become acquainted ivitli t h e field. Most worliers phoretic methods, and n.ho ~ o u l t like
J l e f h o d e n der mathr/,,nljsciicir P h y s i k . R Y 11, C’OCR.\ST A S D D . H I i . B I , : w . Puhlislied a n d distributed with tlic conscnt of t h e -\lien Property (’ustotii:in. \*ol. I, second cdition; T-ol. 11, first edition. S e n - l-ork: Interseieiicr h1)Iisliem. In?. Price: $8 per voliime; 31.2 for both volumes. Among t h e numerous Grrnian mnthenintiral 1)ool~srcccntly ni:itle fivnilnhlc tjy action of tlie Alien Property (’ustodian, this issue of (‘orir:irit-FIill)ert !vi11 Ire consitlerecl highlight by m a n y . Volume I is well Imo\vn to ninny physicists and pliysical chemists a s a basic reference for t h e innthematicnl txicligroiind of qu:iritunl meclianics; I7olume I1 is of niorc recent issue a n d has not yet nttnined t o such currency. To those who may be cntirely unfaniilinr with the work, it rnny br said t h a t it takes ns its field of s t u d y t h e ninthenintical equntions nnd procediires of theoreticnl physics; morc pnrticulnrly, those arising from meclianics. optics, t h e theory of vibrations. potential theory, heat conduction, antl wave propagation. In n o sense n tcst1)ook of tlie usual type, i t studies these problems from the “fnnctioii-tlieol.rtic:il” point of vicw. rather than froni t h e method so necessary a n d so precious t o tlir pliysieist :ind chemist, of nor1;ing out i n numerable special cases in oider t o learn t h e “ g o ” of the thing. Thp discussion is on a high plane, and will t a r the powcrs of even mntlieiiinticnlly sophistienred readers, so t h a t i t s study is not t o be undrrtalten lightly. Wiosocver ~ . o i i l rdn t e r t h e forest nt this point must grasp t h e axe firmly a n d hen. to t h e line; in rcconiprrisr, he will be repaid by finding i t a lucid antl informative study of a witlc lmdy of nint1irni:iticnl n-ork o f thr highest importance in physical theory. Considering tlre tcclinicnl rlinrneter of the contents. a n d the levcl of iiiatheiriatical achievement presupposed on t h e pnrt of the rrntlcr, i t \voul(l tic difficult. a n d indeed u n profitable, t o give :I detailed review of t h e material 1iri.c. In genrral terms, I-01. I is concerned with matrix theory, the esp:insion of functions (Fouriri, scries :ind integrals and similar expansion forms). variation principles. integrnl cqiintions. a n d n preliminary s t u d y of particular partial differentinl equations coining f o r tlre niost pnrt frorn tlie theory of vibrations of elastic mechi. and tlie functions nrising therefrom ( l h s e l functions, Laguerre comp:irison I with t h e first edition shows t h a t the revision has improved functions, e t c . ) . .the readability, nota1)ly in t h e first chapter on rnntris theory. I n the opinion of t h e reviewer, this volume \vi11 probably he the more useful of the two to most physicists and chemists, and c a n be used sepnrately. It constitutes n niost vnlunhle a d j u n c t t o :Lserious study of t h a t still classic, if tieglected, hotrk--‘l’h~or?/ o,fSofcnd, t)y Lord R can be found a wealth of p1iysic:iI d a t a a n d discussion to lenven the pur mntics. Volume I1 is concerned with the genernl theory of pnrtinl ditTerentix1 eqiintions. xntl c a n I)e studied independently of I’olume I. The empliasis in tlic discussion centers around the method of characteristics a n d of fundamental solutions. The treatment of Hndaniard’s methods for t h e solution of tlie general Ty-nvr rquntion is of esprcinl vnlue now. since Hadnmard’s hooks are no longer readily nvai1:it)Ie. If. a s wenis prol~nhlet o t h e re>-iewcr>this volume is less likely t o he of imniedinte nppenl a n d usrfrilnrss t o chemists and physicists, i t is in no wise a reflection on the character of the work itsrlf; it is siniply t h a t in the s t u d y of actual physical problems the nnalysis of special c:isrs nnd their reduction hy the method o f separation of variabies still is often the most prnctic:ible procednre. w h e n indeed nri esplicit solution is obtainable nt all. .\nil this is even morc t h e cnsr whcn it is tnken into a c c o u n t t h a t not unusually tlir differentinl equntion rrliirli is uscd is itsclf recognized :is being only a partial expression of the physical f:lcts, :11:(i s o d ~ ~ isc justify ~t tlic labor of full solutiou. For reasons srich as these niniiy renders will tint1 t h t tlir ixiucity of sperific npplic‘d t’ions t o pimpler problems of physical iiitrrcst iiinlire tlic high Irvcl of tlic discussion difficult t o
