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Elementary Principles in Physical Chemistry. By T. J. WEBB. 16 x 23 cm.; x 344 pp.; 25 figs. New York: D. Appleton Century Co., 1936. Price: $4.00. In the preface the author states that this book was written for junior and senior students who have had preliminary training in the descriptive phases of chemistry, in general physics, and in the calculus. It takes no more than a general perusal of the contents t o realize that he has written for the superior student who is to specialize in some field of chemistry. The book differs from most texts in this field in that i t is somewhat more advanced. Some of the theorems which are usually mentioned in an already developed form are developed in considerable detail, such as the Debye-Huckel limiting law of strong electrolytes, which includes a development of Poisson’s equation, the Schroedinger equation, reaction velocities from the configuration-potential energy standpoint of Eyring, the quantum theory of the rotator and oscillator, and many theorems in thermodynamics. Most students taking an elementary course in physical chemistry are not sufficiently prepared for some of these considerations. “The content of the book revolvesabout the two fundamental problems of theoretical chemistry, viz,, the state of equilibrium in a chemical reaction and the rate a t which the state of equilibrium is attained.” Consequently, very little consideration is given to the physical properties of the liquid and solid state. For example, there is no discussion of the subjects of surface tension and dielectric constants. The book is replete with formulae and derivations and contains a relatively small amount of factual and descriptive material. This should be an excellent text for the more advanced student in physical chemistry. If the student’s only contact with physical chemistry is to be in a course in which this book is used as a text, a good deal of supplementary work on the part of the instructor will be necessary. However, during some time in his training the student in physical chemistry should become acquainted with those subjects the treatment of which distinguishes this book from those which have already appeared. T. R. HOGSESS.
