JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
234 timation of the elements, and none of the volumes published since that time has contained such chapters. With the publication of the work on eold, however. the inclusion of analvtical methods is renewed-a &nee which kill be welcomed bv &chemists. I In uddition to this h i p t c r (24 pxr~ti),1'11rt3 contains vcry conlplrtr dircuncion~of the pllysicnl pnq~rrtirsof gold (143 pxxe , i r d ~I~crn~chcmio:~l I,rh~vior (57 yxg~r),and 115 rcxctivity tusurJ many types of chemicals (23 pages), as well as a very short chapter ( 1 page) on its physiological action. The preparation and reactions of gold compounds are then discussed in some detail (112 pages) and the volume is completed with a chapter on the alloys of gold (192 pages). Since mast of the gold of commerce is used in the form of alloys, these have been the subjects of much research, and they are treated here a t some length. Gold is usually alloyed with copper or silver to improve its hardness and mechanical properties, and the alloys with these metills are therefore trested in the greatest detail. The amalgrtms, which are important in the metallurgy of gold, also receive detailed treatment. These books, like others in the Gmelin series, are of necessity expensive, hut they are essential to every chemical library.
Instructions for the performance of more than 40 tests for the various functional groups are given in the second section, which concludes with a brief descriotion of the aoolicatiou of uhvsiosl methods to the detection of such erauos: ' ~irectians'fo"r t,hr prcparation of dvrivxrivr~are given i u the third section, in a l w h the importance of welt iuetors ns the purity of ir-igents, r:!tit, of reoctnntc, rrwtalliz~rionprocnlurc, etv., is clearly illustrxrd I,? examples. The various classes of organic compounds are then dealt with in turn. Each chapter opens with a critical discussion of the vs."ous possible reagents and derivatives, and gives full instructions for the use of the reagents selected, and for the preparation of typical examples of derivatives. A brief final chapter, written in colhhoration with Dr. T. S. Ma. deals with ouan~
~~
~
~~
~
~~~~
- .
~~~~
now under way, for the critical evaluation of micro and semimicro techniques for a large number of such estimations. As indicated in the preface, elementary quantitative snalysis is not dealt with. Excellentlv illustrated and includine some 2000 literature ref-
JOHN C. BAILAR. JR
in practical organic chemistry are a t a more moderate level. The style is clear and the spirit of inquiry whieh runs right through is very infectious. 0
JOHN T. STOCK
MICRO AND SEMIMICRO METHODS
UNIY-~T
MINNEBOTA MINNBBOTA MINNEAPOLIS.
Nicholas D. Cheronis, Professor of ChemMry, Brocklyn College. Volume VI of "Technique of Organic Chemistry," edited by Arnold Weissberger. Interscience Publishers, Ine., New York, 1954. xxiii 628 pp. 221 figs. 41 tables. 16 X 24 cm. $12.
OF
+
INTHE introduction to the three main parts into whioh this book is divided, the development of microchemistry is traced, the terminology is discussed, aud the advantages and applications of miorochemical techniques are pointed out. Teaching aspects are by no means overlooked; despite the obvious economies in materials and other advantages made possible by the adoption of micromethods, Professor Cheronis expresses the opinion that students should he introduced gradually to such methods. Micro and semimicro techniques far such general operations as crystallization, distillation, sublimation, extraction, etc., are extensively discussed in Part I, together with such determinetions as those of melting point, density, molecular weight, etc. From the outset, the highly practical nature of this book is apparent; although the numerous forms of apparatus available for a given purpose are critically reviewed, detailed description is usudly limited to one or two. These are generally either emy to make or are available commercially. The value of the micrascope, both in the determination of melting point and in the study of fusion phenomena, is pointed out and, in discussing the calibration of thermometers, the author draws attention to the scarcity of accurate melting-point data on organic reference standards. Preparative reactions are described in Part 11, micro and semimicro methods for oxidation, reduction, halogenation, and other important operations being given. These are illustrated by selected preparations, for whioh full detailils, including yields, are given. Frequent reference is made to the hitherto unpublished work of the author and his co-worker8 and many simple tips, such as the pre-treatment of a rubber stopper for a bromination apparatus, and the "on the spot" preparation of 100 per cent nitric acid, anhydrous aluminium bromide, etc., are neatly woven into the text. A chapter contributed by Dr. A. R. Ronzio describing microsynthesis with tracer elements provides a perfect illustration of a branch of chemistry in whioh microtechniques are indispensable. Analyticd procedures and reactions are the concern of Part 111, whieh is subdivided into three main sections. The first of these deals with the characteriaatiou of organic compounds. Schemes for identification are discussed and procedures for preliminary examination and for the detection of elements are described.
0
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY. VOLUME XIII: STlLBlTE TO THERMOCHEMISTRY
Edited by Raymond E. Kirk and Donald F. Othmer, Professors and Heads, Departments of Chemisky and Chemical Engineering, respectively, Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. Assistant editors, Janet D. Scott and Anthony Standen. The Interscience Encyclopedia, Inc., New York, 1954. xvi 952 pp. 19 X 27 cm. Single copy price, $30. Subscription price, $25.
+
WHATimportant and interesting subjectsappear in theinterval from Stil- to Thermo- ? Sulfur, sugars, terpenes, and textiles, with their ramifications, dominate the interval. There must be other suhjects, which certainly are more than space fillers. The inorganic chemist will find the elements strontium, tantalum, tellurium, thallium, and their compounds. In addition to the element sulfur is its inorganic compounds, sulfuric acid, sulfur trioxide, and sulfamio acid. Organic sulfur compounds occupy a large section, with other topics such as organic sulfides, sulfinic and sulfonic acids, sulfones, sulfouamides, sulfa drugs and sulfur dyes. Succinic and tarhric acids have small sections. Terpenes and terpenoids are treated in some detail-acyclic, cyclic, sesqui-, di-, and tri- types of compounds. Sugars are treated as a. chemical group and also the members produced commerciallv for v s h u s usen. The tiochemist finds several important subjects: st~mulmts and depressants of the nervous system, streptomyces and autibiotics, and the tetracyclines. The physical chemist has the importaut subject of surface properties and thermochemistry, as well as thermal analysis. The chemiml engineer finds stoichiometry, the unit process of sulfonatiou and sulfation, as well as temperature measurement. The various indrrst,ries and technologies run from the natural to the synthetic. Sugar and textiles dominate the subject. The manufacture and analysis of sugars cover sucrose in detail and also the other commerical sugars. Textile fibers are surveyed in general, but the acrylic, vinyl, polyester, tetrafluoroethylene, and glass fibers are discussed in detail. The general fields of testile technology and testing cover the preparation and treating of the cloth from the fibers. Other important subjects me styrene
235
APRIL. 1955 and its resins and plastics, surface-active agents, sweetening agents, talc, t d l oil, tar and pitch, and tea. E. C. T. should become a completed entity in 1955. Thisisan event t o which we can look forward. We can begin to wonder &at the staff has in store in the way of augmenting the present material and topics.
ulum that the average student is not adequstely equipped t o grasp readily in the farm in which it is usually presented." Presumably the authors were going t o amend the situetionrtnd change the form. While they have done a fine job of presentation and made some innovation, i t is the reviewer's opinion that the subject material has not thereby become a "pushover" far the average medical atudent. The prediction remainins that medical students KENNETH A. KOBE will still he, as a general rule, of rather law competence in this field, and that serious biochemistry will have to be loft more and more to the specialist. The most hopeful aim for medical educrution in biochemistry can only be t o give a general over-all picture of some dynamic aspects of biochemistry. This the book is able t o do well. I n going even further the text will still leave 0 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING. VOLUME I the poorly grounded medical student feeling out over his depth. I. MCoulson and I. F. Richardson, Imperial College of Science Worthy of note are the chapters on Metrtholism of Carbohyand Technology. McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., New York, 1954. drates, Lipids, and Proteins. This increasingly complex and viii 1. 370 pp. Figs. and tables. 16 X 23.5 cm. $7.50. fascinating material is presented with magnificent clarity. A THISEnglish text is the firat of two volumes making up a new very extensive treatment of the bormonesis a noteworthy acbieventry into the field of general textbooks covering the unit oper- ment. The text is quite readable, the developments are logical, ations of chemical engineering. Volume I covers fluid flow, and of special sppesl is the fact that each chapter has a general heat transfer, and mass transfer, and the relationships among discussion a t the outset explaining wherein the material of that these as the fundamental mechsnisms of the rest of the unit oper- chapter is important t o the student. The taneis positive throughations. It is understood that Volume I1 will apply these theo- out and this is achieved because controversial points arc not beretical foundations to distillation, filtration, evaporation, ete. labored. All of these attentions help the beginner in getting a Section A of the first volume has the ususl chapters on friction grasp on the subjeot. The bibliography is more thanadequate for the average student. in pipes, flow measurement, and pumps. Section I3 is a rather condensed chapter on heat transfer including conduction, con- The references are wisely confined t o review materials and broad vection, and radiation. Section C is a general introduction to presentations. Most remarkable is the multitude of figures mass transfer with a chapter on diffusion, a. chapter on the re- mainly designed to show the metabolic fate of materials. They lationships among heat, momentum, and mass transfer, and one achieve a swoop and flourish that makkes the dynamic state of living ~ tissue- seen- more than ever. on the boundam" laver. The latter oontains ~ mnt,h~mn.t,ieal ~ ~-~ ~ ~ +,rentF ~ ~ ~ credible ~ ~ . " ments not usually included in firstyear chemical engineering ELIOT F. BEACH courses in this country. Section D contains one chapter on METAOPOLIT*N LIFE IWB"R*NCE CO. humidification and cooling as a practical example of simultaneoue Nsw Yona. N. Y. heat and mass transfer. The authors have made a good presentation of standard firstyear unit-operations material. The mathemetical treatments are often given in more detail than usual. They have adopted TECHNIK DEII EXPERMENTALCHEMIE the technique, however, of putting what they consider to be the 0 more difficult theoretical treatmentg in small type. Rudolf Arendt and Ludwig Db'rmer. Sixth edition, completely Most of the necessary charts and tables for the working of revised by K - E . Ddrmer. Quelle and Meyer. Heidelberg. 1954. problems are included, but many of them are quite small and the xvi i 439 pp. 231 tigs. 16 X 23.5 cm. DM 35. book in general is not as profusely illustrated as others in this field. Worked examples appear in each chapter, and the publishers state that a selection of problems will appear a t the end of Volume 11. ago was considered a standard text. The preceding, fifth edition 6. RICKLIN appeared in 1974; in the intervening years Ludwig DBrmer, father of the present chief author, Karl-Edmund Dbrmer, passed sway, and the task of completing the revision of the hook after the manner set by the elder DBrmer fell upon the son. Furthermore, tho delay in this task was to a considerable extent increased hecause of the after-effects of the last war. BIOCHEMISTRY The new edition contains a general part of some 88 pages with Abraham Cantarow. Professor of Biochemistrv. and Bernard numerous literature references, which is intended to point out the Scheportz, Asiistanf Professor of Biochemisny. Jefferson Medical importance of chemical experimentation and its historical deCollege. W. B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia. 1954. xrv T 848 velopment. The significance of the experimental side of chemical instruction, both in the form of lahoratory experiments performed pp. 136 figs. 7 5 tables. 16 X 24 cm. $11. by the student and those carried out by the instruotor as lecture THIS thoroughly excellent new text in biochemistry, according demonstrations, is emphasized throughout the hook. Thus, each to the authors, is designed primarily to meet the needs of the experiment is designated notonly by anumber, but by a letter infirst-year medical student. I t is the opinion of the reveiwer that dioating whether it is intended for the student or the instructor. something rather more fundamental than this limited objective The scope of these experiments, whieh make up the bulk of the bas been achieved. The text is worthy of the mare serious book, ir quite extensive. In fact, tn this writer, the chief question student of the science and should find much wider application which arises in evaluating the authors' accomplishment is whether wherever biochemistry must be taught in its modern detail, or not the attempted coverage in subject matter is, if anything, I n reading the book one is amazed a t the tremendous progress too wide, leading to the impression of a certain degree of superMhiob has taken place in all phases of the subject in the past few ficiality which detracts from the obvious merits whieh the book years. The medical student is now called upon to comprehend otherwise exhibits. a mass of material in biochemistry alone which seems almost The list of experiments includes the following: inorganic staggering. The authors say: "Although hiochemi~trycurrently chemistry, further classified under the headings of nonmetdls and occupies s, focal position in all of the medical sciences, as well as metals (also including a selection of quantitative analvtical operin clinical medicine, this is the one subject in the medical ourric- ations); organic chemistry, subdivided into aliphatic and aro~~
~
~~
~
