APRIL. 1953
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the problem of diffusion and equilibrium of the various eomponents of the cosmic radiationin thestmosphere (Puppiand Dallsi oorta) : (7) a ruoort on the deoth variation of cosmic ravs under-
ray components, especially with regard to solar and siderial time (Elliot). I n spite of the variety of authors and subjects covered, the editor has succeeded well in oresentine: in a sin& volume a coordinated oieture of the ores& statui of much of the cosmic ray research.' The general iuhject and author index covering all the chapters will he of valuable assistance to the research worker in this field. The reports presentcd in this volume are excellent examples of the type of material that one would like to find more often in the Reviews of Modern Physics. ROBERT B. BRODE UNIVERS~TI Or. CALIFORNIA B ~ n m ~ sC uA . LI~ORWIA
ELIAS E. RIES, INVENTOR
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Estelle H. Ries. Philosophical Library, Inc., New York, 1951. xii 369 pp. 14 X 22 cm. $4.75.
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THE story of E l i a ~E . Ries as told by his daughter here is a human document of great significance to anyone concerned with American progress. It should appeal especially to inventors, engine~rs,and scientists and also to patent lawyers, and to those whose industries are built u m n the inventions referred to in this story of a pioneering invenior who laid the groundwork for the inventions that made these industries possible in our modem world of eleotrioity. Today we hear so much about research laboratories, but here is a biography of s. man who went it alone, and last because of absurdpatentrogulstionsorabu8eof them, becauseof human pettiness and confliot with patent lawyers. From more than 200 inventions not one brought him enough ta even pay the debts contracted in its development. Today his name ranks with the great names who founded the great American electrical industries, and these amazing stories are revealed by his daughter. To mention only a few of these are his studies with talking pictures, of heating applied to railroad cars, electrical methods for manufacturing tools and machinery, a. safety control far electric eleva tars that made modern skyscrapers possible, and his basic patents upon both direct and alternating current which made possible the invention and development of electric railwrty~. This biography is a crusading hook in that the writer not only points out the hazards encountered by inventors but makes suggestions for improving these conditions and protecting the reseach of creative thinkers like her father. GRETA OPPE
BALLH ~ G R SCHOOL GALVEBTON, TEXAS
0
were P. G. Kelemen, G. Pasravana, G. 8, Forbes, hl. Szware, and H. A. Taylor. The purpose of the tables is to present an evaluated cornpilation of the numerical data on rates and rate constants of homogeneaus chemical reactions. Only experimentally determined facts have been listed, since i t is not the purpose af the volume to give interpretations and theory of the experiments. The reactions are given a code number and are classified under headings such as racemization, branching isomerizatian, esterification, ester exchange, condensation, hydrogen euhstitutian, decomposition, association, and oxidation-reduotion. The data given for the reactions vary, but in general they include the concentration range, medium or solvent, rate constant, energy of activation, temperature, frequency factor, and literature reference. The book contains a. remarkable assembly of valuable information on homogeneous reactions. As such it should be an excellent source of data for the teacher of physical chemistrj and reaction kinetics.
TABLES OF CHEMICAL KINETICS: HOMOGENEOUS REACTIONS
Edited by N. Thon. Circular No. 510 of the National Bureau of Standards. 1951. x d v 731 pp. of tables. 2 3 X 29cm. For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, United States Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C. $4.
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THIS work is a cooperative effort of the National Bureau of Standards, The Committee on Tables of Constants of the National Research Council, and Princeton University. The data are on punched sheets bound in a paper cover. Suhserihers will be sent supplementsrv sheets which may be insorted in their proper place by removing the cover and ansemhling the whole material in lome-leaf hinders. Assisting the editor
CHEMICALS OF COMMERCE Foster D. Snell and Cornelia T. Snell, Consulting Chemists. Second edition. D. Van Nostmnd Co., New York, 1952. ix + 587 pp. 14.5 X 22 cm. $6.50. mmmerTHIS book is said to have "all the nrineinnl fa& a1,nnt. ,~ ~~~~~r~~~ ~. . cia1 chemicals from Ahalyn to Zirconium Oxide," hut the reviewer was never able to find Abalyn. There is no index to help cut "This volume is designed to furnish information an the compasition of actual commercial products a s sold in commerce." 1tiontaim 38 chapters ranging from inorganic acids to vitamins, sterols, antibiotics, and hormones. To one with chemical training the material given is quite dementary and often inadequate. To a nontechnical purchasing agent or salesman, this hook might supplv some useful inform* tion, although the nontechnicel man might have difficulty in classifying the compound and locating the appropriate chapter. ~~
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KENNETH A. KOBE U ~ r ~ e R s l TOE r TEXAS
AOSTIN, T e x u
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY. VOLUME IX: METAL SURFACE TREATMENT TO PENICILLIN
Edited by Raymond E. Kirk and Donald F. Othmer, Professors and Heads, Departments of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, respectively, at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. Assistant Editors, Janet D. Scott and Anthony Standen. The Inter943 pp. science Encyclopedia, Inc., New York, 1952. xvi Illuskated. 19 X 27 cm. Subscription price, $25. Single COPY,$30.
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A COUNT of the number of items which are referred back to previous volumes would be an interesting study of the ever-increasing coverage of the set of E.C.T. The organic chemist scores heavily in this volume, with major sections devoted t o naphthalene and derivatives, naphthenir acids, nitration, nitriles and isocyanides, nitro and nitroso eompounds, nitrobensenettndnitrotoluene,nitroparaffins, nitraphenols, essentialoils, oniumeompounds, orgmometallic compounds, o d i c acid, mimes, and particularly, organic analysis. The inorganic chemist will be interested in the elements molybdenum, nickel, nitrogen and oxygen and their compounds, nitric acid, nitrogen system of comwunds. nucleonics. and ozone. The anttlvtieal chemist has miEroana~ysisand mic~oscopy. The physical chemist looks for the sections on molecular structure, osmosis and osmotic pressure, and oxidation-reduction. The biochemist h a
