BOOK REVIEWS course itself. Tho hook would also he valuable 8s a text for the second half of n "elassicd" course in physical chemistry. Chapters 1-6, a discussion of statistical mechanics and kinetic theory and Chapters 16-19 on kinetics would make a ggod second s ~ m e s t e physical r chemistry course. MELVINW. HANNA Unioerszty of Colorado Rodder
Atomic-Absorption Spectrophotometry
W. T . Elwell and . I A. . F. Gidleg, both of I . C. I. Metals Division, Birmingham, England. MacMillan Co., New York,
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1962. vii 102 pp. Figs. and tnhlrs. 14.5 X 22 cm. $5. Atomic-absorption spectroscrqv wae developed by M'alsh in 1955 and rapidly became a sensitive method for the analysis of many metals in solution, particularly for certain samples not readily analyzed by methods of emission spectrometry. I n this hook the authors present a brief summary of the t,henry which is concerned with the intensity of spectral lines, the absorption coefficient of ahsorption lines broadened due t o the Ihppler effect and the need lorn. sharp line source. The equipment is described in x general manner,no details are given of vaporizers or burners required for handling the snmple; however, t,he design and production of a hollow-rathode lamp is given. I n the chapter h e d e d General Consideration there is some discussion of t,he factors influencing the atomization of the liquid and the voletilization of the "clotlrts" fnrmedin the flame. A list is given of 30 elements which can he determined, 10 of which receive 8p~ciaI treatment in the remaining 50 pages of the text, with articular emphasis on zinc, lead, and ma~nesium for which d ~ t a i l e dprocedures are outlined. The hook is a reasonably goad introduction t o the subject hut some recent journal articles have done almost as well. An extensive bibliography is given, useful for those who need t o know experimental dctnila t h a t arelackingin this text. THOMAS TIE VRIES Purdue TJniversilg I,afayetle, Indiana
Elementary Introduction to Molecular Speelra
R $ q e Bak, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. 2nd ed. North-Holland Publishing Co., Amstordam, 1962 (distributed h y Interscience Publishers, Inc., New York). xi 144 pp. Figs. and tables. 16 X 23 cm. $6.
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The first edition of the little hook h y B. Bak, professor of molecolsr spectroscopy at the University of Copenhagen, was reviewed in THIS JOURNAL, 32,222 (1955). This second, revised odit,ion consists
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BOOK REVIEWS essent,islly of the first edition in slight,ly larger format to r h i e h has been added s chapter of l i pages an Magnetic Kesonnnce Spectra. I n the section corresponding to the first edition nhout 30 changes have heen made. For the most part these have bem the deletion, addition, or corrccbion of s word or sent,enre. Sineo this reviewer agrws with the comments t,hat were made in thp review uf t,he first edit,ion he will make only a few general remarks. I h . Bak has n t t ~ m p t e dt o writ,e o monograph covering the wholc field of molecular spectra, in a form that is suitable for the non-speet,roscopist.. The treatment is extreme1.v c o n d ~ n ~ eand d cunscquently i t is very weak a t orsctly thc places where the
non+pecialist needs the most help. The majority of the ideas, terms, symbols, and formulas encountered in molecular spectroscopy are mentioned but they are not amplified and for this reason the book is scarcely suitable for a person encountering this subject for the first time. Conceivably, the book would be useful t o a person already familiar with molcmlar spectroscopy but desiring a compendium logically arranged. Five-sixths of the new chapter is devoted t o nuclear magnet,ic resonance and the remainder to electron magnetic resonance. The levcl is more e l ~ m m t i t r y than the preceding portion of the book. Under NMIt both the ehemicd shift and spin-spin interaction are discussed qualitatively and an attempt is made t o explain the observed spectra in terms of p r a -
magnetic currents, diamagnetic currants, and magneticslly interacting spins. T h e three pages devoted t o E M R do not allow the author t o say very much. Several examples of the spectra of organic molecules are given in this chapter but, the organic chemist cannot expect t o learn much from such a. cursory treatment of this important ficld. Owners of the first edition will scarcely find i t worth while t o buy the second edition for the sake of the chapter on Magnetic Resonance Spectra. Others should realize thp limitations of this monograph.
JAMES CURRY Williams College Williamslnzun, Mnssachzrsetts
Introduction to Molecular Spectroscopy
Gordon AT. Ranow, Case Institute of techno log.^, Cleveland. MeGraw-Hill Book Go., Inc., 1962. xiii 318 pp. Figs. and tables. 17 X 24.5 cm. $10.75.
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I n some fonn or other molecular spectroscopy is used by a wide variety of scientists. The s p x e chemist studying the combustion processes in rockets, the biochemist investigating photosynthesis and the theoretical chemist seekine t o test his theories of bonding are but few examples of the chemists who either use this type of spectroscopy as a. tool or utilize the data obtained from it. Molecular spectroscopy is a rather specializpd allhject and the book reviewed here has heen written with the aim of giving t h r non-specialist ;I deeper understanding of this field. Dr. Barrow, an cxpericneed teacher and contributor t o the literature, has written on spectroscopy a t a level bctween that found in physical chemistry texbbooks and the specialized works represented by the classical books of G. Herzberg. In this hook theory is developed first and the results are then applied t,o B fcw examples. Schriidinger's equation is int,raduced in t,he first chanter and its use in
in the r electrons of a eonjugstpd syst,em. Continual use is made of the equation in the later chapt,ers. Usua1l.v n sohjeet is first treated hy appl,ving class%l mechanics and the development is carried through the Lagrangian forrnulat,ion. A good deal of emphasis is placed on the use of simple mechanical models that can be easily visualiscd. After that has been done fairly thoroughly, the quantum mechanical trcntmrnt is used, hut here the methods of solution xrp often only sketched. Nnouph detail, however, is given so t h a t tho rrnder may understand what is going on. F i n d v , thc refincmcnts that are necessary to make the model more successful are pointed out and a t times t h e corresponding equations are given. The development of t h e theory is logical and is very carefully dona. Most readers will welcume t,he wealth of detail that is given
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