BOOK REVIEWS ticians. In order to maintain the promise of the subtitle, the author has found it necessary to eschew troublesome complications, and in this oversimplification much of the chemical reality is lost. On page 15: "If the charges on the ions are not equal, the solubility is still determined by the eolubility product alone. . " On page 24: "When silver acetate is dissolved in water, the principal species are silver ions and acetate ions." (A fair amount of undissociated silver acetate is present.) On page 27: "Thus, the methods we have described give the minimum possible solubility. Usually the actual solubility is greater." On page 55: "Metal hydroxides are either nearly ceompletely dissociated or they form complex
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acidity and eomplexing on solubility me treated briefly and only qualitatively. The effect of ionic strength and the determination of activity coefficients are discussed, but the resulting ideas are little used in the rest of the text. Overall, there is very little indication of why a chemist might want to make t,he types of calculations shown. This is not to suggest that this hook should be longer and more comprehensive, for the same author has done a. masterful job of wide scope in his larger hook, "Ionic Equilibrium," and there is a place for the limited treatment with stress on simple calculations. So long as prospective users realize that the author does a. very good job on some very limited aspects, they will find the study of the book rewarding. There are many problems discussed in detail in the text, and a large number of problems are a t the ends of chapters, with answers in the appendix. I n dosing I shall report on the "pet peeve" cheek: This is one of very few books which properly discredit the term "hydrolysis" and the name "ammonium hydroxide."
R. W. RAHETTE Carleton College Northfield, Minnesota Fosl Reoclions in Solution
E. F . Caldin, University of Leeds, England. John Wiley and Sans, Inc., New York, 1964. x 306 pp. Figs. and tables. 15 X 23 cm. 87.50.
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Many chemists have studied the rates of reactions. Nevertheles~, the interpretation of the extensive results in terms of reaction mechanisms is frequently difficult and often ambiguous. Thus kineticists have always been concerned with extending the range of the measurement.3, particularly to include faster reactions. These reactions are interesting both for their own sake and hecause they may help to provide an understanding of slower reaetiom. Caldin's short hook is a summary of various methods which have been used in the study of reactions which take place in
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Chemical Education
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BOOK REVIEWS t,imes shorter than those normally required for the mixing of solutions. This means r e a d i m s which are more than half over in about one second. He discusses Row methods; relaxation techniques, in which a n equilihrinm is perturbed by a. t,emperature or pressure puke or by ultrasonir absorpt.ion; rapid initiation of reactions by flash lamps; photo ehemirrrl, Ruoreseenre and eleetro-chemical methods; and measurements of the lifetimes of rhenlical species, e.g, free radicals or hydrated ions, hy means of electron spin or nuclear magnetic resonance. The final chapter is devaled to a discussion of several topics, such as d i k s i a n controlled reaction rates, which xre of particular interest in ronnection wit.h fast reart,ians in solution. The hook is well produretl with clear type and helpful diagrams. I t is vemsrkably free of typographiral errors. .4n author index would have been n real help in making the numerous reierences more useful to the reader. Caldin does not go into the details or experimental techniques or mathematical derivations. Instead he tries t o uut,line enough of each topic to rnske the presentation plausible. He then gives numerical result whirh illustrate the prnrticsl sppliration of the partic:ular method. This means that the reader can get an overall view of several techniques and a survey of many results. Anyone who wants to do similar research himself must searrh for more thorough t,t.mtments. By choosing to discuss fast reavtions as a g ~ m Caldin p makes a n a h i t r a r y rlnsifiration whirh brings togetlrer otherrise unrelated systems. This is nat a pnrtiaularly ftuitiul choice from a pedagogical point, of view. Its justification comes f m m the interest and enthuxiasm whirh chemists feel when they realize that tlresc terhniqucs can open up so many fidds for erplot.ation. One of the outstanding exmmples of this is the spectacular surress which Eigen and his rollengues have had in extending kinet,ie mensut.ements in water sr,lutim tn renrt,ions whirh have half times as short as 1 O P s e r . Far fewer ~.eilrlions now have rabes which are "irnmensurwl,ly fast." The ho
