NEW BOOKS Mass-spectra and Isotopes. By F. W. ASTON. 248 pp. New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1933. Price: $4.80. The present volume replaces the earlier well-known monograph of the author published by the same company under the title “Isotopes” (second edition, 1924). In expanding the title the author has sought to restrict the scope of the book somewhat, though its length has necessarily increased with the expansion of the experimental material and of its theoretical significance. A very welcome part of the new book gives a detailed account of the construction of the new focusing mass-spectrograph and of the theory and practice of its use. The more accurate values of the relative mass of individual atoms have shown definitely the departure from the whole number rule and have established the highly important “packing fractions” for most elements and the general shape of the curve as a function of atomic mass. As sixty-six of the possible eighty-four elements have now been subjected to isotopic analysis, the statistics have a broad significance. Only twenty simple elements have been found, and no element of odd atomic number has been found to have more than two isotopes. Two very interesting chapters on the isotopic effect in molecular and atomic spectra have been added. As we have just entered on new and highly interesting phases of nuclear transmutation, Aston’s packing fractions are an indispensable guide in the calculation of the interchange of mass and energy. S. C. LIND. Modern Thermodynamics by the Methods of Willard Gibbs. By E. A . GUGGENHEIM. xvi 206 pp.; 10 figures. London: Methuen and Co., Ltd., 1933. Price: $3.50. This book can be heartily commended to the attention of teachers and advanced students of thermodynamics. That it is not written for the beginner is evident from the fact that the author pays scant attention t o the experimental basis and physical significance of the first and second laws, contenting himself with advising the reader to make himself familiar with the treatment in Planck’s “Thermodynamics.” The theorems of thermodynamics are developed in a logical way, the mathematical method employed being the straightforward, analytic one. The author quite rightly criticizes the “method of cycles” on the ground that when it is simple i t is usually inexact and when it is exact, i t is usually complicated. The author must also be commended for employing, as Gibbs did, the illuminating term, “chemical potential,” in place of the verbose expression, “the partial molal free energy.” A very valuable feature of the book is the author’s treatment of activities and activity coefficients. The serious student will find especially helpful the chapters on electrochemical systems, gravitational field and surface phases. F. H. MACDOUGALL.
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Fundamentals of Biochemistry in Relation to H u m a n Physiology (Fourth Edition). By T. R. PARSOKS.12 x 18.5 cm.; 435 pp.; 26 figures. Cambridge: W. Heffer and Sons, Ltd., 1933. Baltimore : William Wood & Company, 1933. Price : $3.00. The emphasis of this book is on fundamentals. In automobile parlance it is the 713
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stripped and cut-an-ay chassis delineating the biochemical reactions characteristic Q f the vital processes of the human organism. The book is written in an extremely “human,” almost conversational, style and reads as though the author were sitting across the table from you and confidentially telling you (a novice) of the wonderful chemical mechanisms operating within your body. In fulfilling this purpose the author is admirably successful. The reader needs only a minimum amount of chemical background to profit by the reading of this book. Even a good course in high school chemistry should be sufficient. The book is thoroughly up to date and should prove of great value t o the individual who wishes to acquaint himself with the essentials of animal biochemistry. I t is also recommended for use in introductory courses in medical schools, for nurses, or similar groups of students. Certain physicochemical phases of physiology are considered in chapters XVIII and X I X (pp. 327-403). Here again extremely graphic illustrations are used. For example, in speaking of hydrogen-ion concentration and bodily reactions we read “Human life as a whole is like this. Let the blood become ever so slightly acidnot even as acid as distilled water that has absorbed a trace of COz from the atmosphere-and the patient dies in coma; let it become even so faintly alkaline as tap water is, and the subject goes into tetany. Between these two limits we have all our lives to try to steer a middle course.” . . . . “these two extremes do not differ from each other by as much as a millionth of a gram of hydrogen ions per litre of blood !” Each chapter has appended a list of literature citations so that the interested reader can follow up in detail such items as he wishes to pursue past the rather elementary treatment of the text. Ross AIKENGORTNER. Hydrides of Boron and Silicon. By ALFREDSTOCK.250 pp.; 36 figures. Ithaca, N. Y, : Cornell University Press, 1933. Price : $2.00. This volume contains a portion of the subject matter of the George Fisher Baker Non-resident Lectures in Chemistry, given by Professor Stock at Cornell University in the spring of 1932. The work for the last thirty years on hydrides by Professor Stock and his coworkers is so well known that it hardly needs comment. In the present volume these excellent researches are summarized and presented in masterly fashion. Every chemist should read this volume. The ingenuity and patience shown in the execution of the experiments move one to admiration. The importance of the boron hydride problem for valency theory cannot be overestimated. This problem has special significance in the development of our ideas of chemical bonds. Main Smith has said: “These compounds of boron must be regarded as a decisive test of any theory of valency.” Any theory of valency which cannot explain the structure of the hydrides of boron in a logical and self-consistent manner is doomed t o failure. It is obvious then that the volume before us is one of the very important additions to the literature of chemistry. The material is divided into thirty-two chapters. The individual hydrides are described carefully and methodically in separate sections. For cross-reference one finds complete chapters on the important reactions of these compounds. The investigator and reader desirous of looking up any certain point can find the information with the greatest ease. The apparatus used and especially developed for these researches is described fully in a special appendix. Here a warning regarding mercury poisoning is included. It is well known that Professor Stock has taken a leading position in advising research workers to use greater care in the handling of exposed mercury. The theoretical problem of the structure of these hydrides is
