APRIL, 1951
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mation and insight into nuclear processes can he ohlained by those who do not have this preparation. The hook is intended as a general nuclear physics textbook on s starting graduate level. The emphasis thrnughout is on experimental results, while theory is interwoven to correlate the observations and does not in general attempt t o go beyond them. The hook is organbed into 13 chapters each of which contains material printed in m a l l type which can he ignored without interrupting the continuity of the subject. Each chapter is followed by a list of problems as an aid to those who wish to use the book fo; instruction. The important underlying feature of this book is its obvious direct oantsct with current orininsl literature. The reader will find discussions of the new developments of nuclear physics, of which there are many, in additton to the nuclear chain reaction. As examples, summaries are provided of the complex relationships of the different mesons and the current status of cosmic ray research, and new experimental methods such as neutron diffraction and microwave spectroscopy are described. In addition, most of the new instruments and machines of nuclear physics are diagramed and explained. For those who wish to go beyond the material given in the hook a generous number of recent literature references are given, particularly to work which has not yet found its way into hooks. A spot check through the hook yielded a. sprinkling of minor errors, most of them probably typographical, hut the incidencz seems to be smaller than that of most comparable hooks in first edition. Any particular research worker in nuclear physics might find that he would describe his field in more detail or with change in nuance, hut in thia reviewer's opinion the author has maintained a good perspective. The volume can he recommended both to students of the nuclear sciences and those with a more casual interest in the field as a faithful and lucid description of experimental nuclear physics today. I. PERLMAN CAGIFOBNIA BIIRHE'EY.CALIFORNIA
UNrVEnslTY OF
AN EIGHTEENTH CENTURY LECTURESHIP IN CHEMISTRY
0
Edited by Andrew Kent. Jackson, Son and Co., Glasgow, 1950. 233 pp. 18 plates. 14 X 22 cm. 21/-.
xv
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IN1947 the University of Glesgow celebrated the two-hundredth anniversary of the founding of its first lectureship in chemistry. The firat incumbent was William Cullen, his successor was Joseph Black, and the chair, which became a Regius Professorship with Thomas Thomson in 1818, has continued until the pmcnt day. .\a part 01 rhc cclrtmtiun, four adrlrrssrs a r w prr.icrltrd, dealing with Cullcn. Black, rhc industrial drvrlolrn~rutu f Scotland durinc the Cullrrr-Black ncriod. and Cllrwon. chrmstrv in the twentieih century. subs&uentiy these addresses we& supplemented by a numher of additional essays to make up the present hook. Although in a sense the book is the history of a single university, it is actully far more. I t is as much the story of chemistry in the University of Edinburgh as of Glasgow, far the faculty of Edinburgh was drawn dmost entirely from Glasgow in the eighteenth century. Between the two universities, most of the chemical developments of Scotland were covered. At this period Scotland was one of the leading centers of chemicd eduoiltion of the world. Particularly did students from colonial America come to study with Cullen and Black. The pioneering work of Rush in Philadelphia and M d e m at Princeton reflects the training they received in Scotland. Wrtt invented his steam engine at Glasgow, and many of the founders of English ohemical indue tries were educated there. All of these aspects of Scottish chemistry are treated in the brief hut authoritativeessays presented in this volume. Biographical sketches of the leading chemists of the period, Irvine, Robisan, Hope, Cleghorn, and Thomson, supplement the fuller treatment
of Cullen and Black. The physical setting, Glasgow and its University, are described, and the chemical background, stemming largely from Boerhaave and reflecting the main trends of a period when the doctrine of phlogiston was giving way to the ohemistry of Lavoisier, is well discussed. The essay on "Phlogie ton, Caloric, and Heat" is particularly illuminating in revealing the type of thinking which prevailed among chemists of that time. The industrial development of Scotland is described, and the story of Glasgow chemistry is carried dawn to modern timesin the final essay. There is a short article by T. S. Patterson which makes some very pungent comments on modern methods of teaehing chemistry, in contrast to the inductive method used by Black. It can thus be seen that the hook contains mrtterial which should appeal to almost every taste: In spite of the number of topics discussed, however, there is a unity of treatment which makes it a pleasure to read the hook through. It recreates the ininrmal s ~ i r iof t the time. when students might throw a handful
reading this volume. HENRY M. LEICESTER
C O L ~ OorEPATBICIANB AND SDAGEONB SAWFRANOBOO. CALIFORNIA
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ELEMENTS OF FRACTIONAL DISTILLATION
C. S. Robinson and E. R. Gilliland, Professors of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Revised and rewritten by E. R. Gilliland. Fourth edition. MoGrawHiU Book Ca., New York, 1950. ix f 492 pp. Nustrated. 16 X 23.5 cm. $7.
THE fourth edition of "Elements of Fractional Distillation" has been entirely rewritten by Profeasar Gilliland, who has graduated the volume from the publishers International Chemical Series to the Chemical Engineering Series. Most of the chapters are new and those in the third edition (1939) dealing with special technologies have been discarded in favor of fundamental methods of design. The first section of four chapters (100 pages) is entirely new. It deals with the determination of vspor-liquid equilibria, presentation of these data, and the calculation of equilibria. For the latter edeulations, the use of the Duhem-Msrgules and Van Laar equations is illustrated. The following four chapters (113 pages) present simple distillation and reetifimtion of binary solutions. The main emphasis is placed on the Sore1 cslculation a d McCahe-Thiele graphical methods. The Ponchon enthalpyconcentration graphical method is treated rather briefly because of its limitation to binary solutions, although the general utility of this method in many chemical engineering c&ulations should warrant a more detailed treatment. A third section (156 pages) applies the previous methods to multicomponent solutions, using Sorel's method, and then shows the applicability of several alternate design methods. Extractive and azeotropio distillation methods are discussed and illustrated, as are hatch and vacuum distillations. Esterification reactions are used to illustrate a brief chapter on simultaneous rectification and chemical reaction. A fourth section (109 pages) treats the problems of mechanical design of the fractionating column and auxiliary equipment. Finally, the performance of the column under operating conditions and plate efficienciesis discussed. Although this hook is the only modern text in Engliah devoted to distillation, its title of "Elements" indicates that certain benefits and limitations are to be expected. Because all discussion begins with the fundamentals anyone with a good training in physical chemistry can master the book. For the chemical cngineer with a hschelor's degree there will he a review of principles previously learned &fore progressing to new material. But thia also is one of the limitations. The hook does not discuss many of the newer and specialized methods that have appeared in the literature in the last few years, particularly for complex petroleum
232
JOURNALZOF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
fractions. The same can be said of column design methods. Hence, those expecting a review and summary of recent literature in the field will he disappointed. It is peculiar that, after the A. I. Ch. E., A. 6. A., and A. C. S. have set up certain standard symbols and notation a text in a chemical engineering series would fail to follow these standards. The consistent use of mol rather than mole is probably due to the desire t o use the old illustrations rather than make new ones. Others apparent are p for z (compressibiltiy), 0 for L (liquid flow in column), and others. The abundant references to M. I. T. theses and 10.45 notes which are not available to the nonresident of Cambridge could undoubtedly he replaced by journal references tbat would he of greater general value. Many of the journal references should he modernized; thus, instead of referring to Othmer's article in 1928 the 1948reference should heused, as it refers t o all of his previous papers in the field of vaporliquid equilibrium. Because this book is well-written and does cover excellently the field of distillation, it will be used widely as an advanced text and its a reference book. KENNETH A. KOBE U~messrTrOP T E X A ~ AU~TIN. TEX*~
CHEMICAL CONSTITUTION AND BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY
W.A. Sexton, Imperial Chemical Industries, Ltd., Manchester, 412 England. D. Van Nostrand Co., New York, 1950. xld pp. 36 figs. 57 tables. 15.5 X 25.5 cm. $10.
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THE relation between chemical constitution and biological activity is of intense interest to workers in both the basic and applied soiences, and it is not surprising that the point of emphasis will he different for the two groups of investigators. It is the reviewer's opinion that the present monograph is more likely to appeal to those primarily interested in application rather than in basic principles. It may be noted that the author's implied goal is "the design of physiologically active molecules." In the introduction the author han provided an interesting historical account of the development of synthetic organic medicinals and of the premises behind this development. The treatment of this topic indicates an awareness as to present status and problems and as to what is fact and hypothesis. The general tone is somewhat optimistic. The monograph can be considered t o be composed of three parts; the first, Chapters I to V inclusive, is anaccount of what may be termed the chemistry of the probable in silu reactants, or matrix elements, and of the general nature of the reactions of these substances with diffusible reactants. The first chapter contains a very brief account of the current ideas relative to the structure of the proteins, nucleic acids, and polysitcoharides. It is not apparent why the lipids me ignored. It is the reviewer's opinion that the section devoted to enayme action could be subst,nntjaJlvimmoved bv admtine . -a more auantitative attitude. A reader familiar with the concepts of enzyme chemietry may be annoyed by the terminology employed in the second chapter entitled Chemical Mechanisms Determining Drug Activity. The use of "inhibition by neutralization" for the well established "irreversible inhibition" and the failure to clearly distinguish hetween the various types of reversible interactions cannot be commended. The examdes given for irreversible inhibition are well chosen. I n contrast, t h e reader cannot be certain tbat the erample8 given for "inhibition by competition'' are truly illustrative since the only test applied is that of reversibility in very complex systems. In view of the author's use of conventional structural farmulss to interpret physiological activity the reviewer would like to advance the proposition that the interpretation of some reactions of physiological interest may he beyond the scope of such models. A discussion of soluhility phenomena, bond types, stereoohemistry, surface chemistry, cellular permeability, and the kinetics of bacterial growth is given in Chapter 111 under the A
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heading of Some Physico-Chemical Considerations. The trestment is far too brief and is generally superficial. The reviewer believes that the author's reluctance to adopt a more rigorous treatment, where such a. treatment is possible, seriously detracts from the usefulness of his monograph. The last two chapters, of the first section are respectively titled Modification of Drugs By Living Organi~msand Effects of Specific Chemical Groupings. The first of these two chapters is a reasonable account of the fate of organic oompounds in living systems. Chapter V is based upon an analogy to dyestuff chemistry and elaborates on the proposition that biological activity can be explained, a t least in part, on s. functional group basis. The author is clearly aware of the limitations of this approach and the contents of this chapter, with but one or two exceptions, offer little that would not he surmised by anyone familiar with elementary organic chemistry. The second part of the book, namely Chapters VI to XIII inclusive, is a series of essays on the chemistry and biologicrtl sctivity of those oompounds which are commonly recognized as vitamins, or growth factors, and are known or presumed to be functional as prosthetic groups of enzyme systems. The topics covered are: nicotinamide, riboflavin, thiamine, p-aminobenzoic acid, pyridoxin, pantothenic acid, biotin, pyrimidines, purines, pterins, porphyrins, cholines, and quinones. The account given is adequate and is written in a reasonably critical vein. Many tables purporting to relate chemical structure and biological activity are given. The essay on p-aminobenzoic acid provides an interesting example of how a theory which was originally satisfying, because of a limited amount of data, has grown into a veritable monster by the introduction of numerous ad hoc hypotheses in order to explain additional observations. The third and last part of the book is concerned with areas which, as the author points out, have been selected in a rather arbitrary manner. Chapter XIV contains a brief review of the more common antibiotics, Chapter XV a r6sum6 of the chemistry of several of the hormones, and Chapter XVI a description of a number of bactericides and fungicides. The antiprotozoal drugs are discussed in Chapter XVII and the insecticides and anthelmentics in Chapter XVIII. The last three chapters, namely XIX to XXI, are devoted to cancer, plant growth regulators, and antigens and antibodies. I n these chapters, ss well as in the previous ones, no attempt has been made to present an exhaustive literature survey. At the end of each chapter a number of selected references are given, including some as recent as 1948. The leek of success in relating chemical constitution to biological activity, except in very limited areas, is not due to any deficiency of this monograph, far it is doubtful that anyone could do a substantially better job a t the present time. It is reasonably clear that a real understanding of the above topic is not even close and that the occasiont~lsuccess achieved in the development of a new "miracle drug" has contributed but little to the elaboration of basic principles. CARL NIEMANN CAGIIORNIA I N ~ I T D TOFB TECANOLOBT P m ~ o r n ~C n .a u r o ~ ~ u
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THE EFFECTS OF ATOMIC WEAPONS Prepared under the direction of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. Executive editor: Samuel Glasstone. McGraw-Hill Bwk Co., New York, 1950. x 456 pp. Illustrated. 16 X 23.5 cm. $2.25.
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A REVIEW of this book may conveniently start with the crude description of an atomic explosion as a bright light, gust of wind or, possibly, surge of water, and many "hot" atoms. Something like a third of the book is devoted to an account of the manner in which these phenomena develop. A second major portion of the text is concerned with predictions, and illustration by examples from the several bursts, of what happens to property and persons as a result. Finally there are discussions of possible defenses against atomic weapons. The book is a joint effort of many persons, 24 being listed as
