chapter on electrochemistry has for some reason been postponed t o the closing pages, in spite of t h e overwhelming importance of the subject throughout the general chemistry course. Such dislocation of subject matter is made still more apparent hy the cross references. I n Chapter 9 alone (on water) crass references are given t o 35 paragraphs, 27 of which are to advanced sections not yet encountered by the student. A little more work here by the author would simplify greatly the task of the student* task now well nigh insuperable if the student is conscientious. The discussion of "five types of chemical change." p. 24, is either too long (since one of the five types mentioned is ignored. except for one insignificant example, throughout the remainder of the book) or too short (since equally important types are omitted from the list). The explanation hased upon the theory of Dalton that atoms can he shuffled, much as a pack of cards, is given in the present tense, although it is no longer true, as in the author's example, that we think of the fermentation of sugar as the breaking up of its molecules into their constituent atoms. and then the reassembling of these atoms into new molecules of alcohol and carbon dioxide. A number of statements are made which are open t o question. Some of these are doubtless due t o incomplete checking of the proof, as must be the formula for 1.2-dichloroethylene, which on p. 498 is called ethylene dichloride; the statement an p. 28 that in the combustion analysis of an organic compound, from the weights of Conand HIO produced we may calculate the percentages of hydrogen and oxygen in the sample; and the definition on p. 648: "One coulomb is equivalent t o the charge on 6 X loP8 electrons (Avogadro's number)." Some additional errors, obviously typographical, are the structural formula for propylene, p. 506; the graphic formula for cellulose. p. 535; the figure "50" for "1W" on p. 482; and various crass references, not all of which have been checked. It has already been suggested that most of the faults of the volume are due t o the haste with which it has been assembled. Such undue haste is not apparent in the preparation of the exercises a t the ends of the chapters. These numerous questions and problems are well chosen and thought provoking. If in a subsequent printing they can be set in larger type they will constitute the most outstandingly desirable feature of a successful text. P. Y.JACKSON U N l r e ~S r ~ r s sN A V A L Auosrrv ANNAPOL~S, Mm=*m FUNDAMENTALS OP PHYSICS. Henry Senat. Associate Professor of Physics, the City College. College of the City of New York. 593 pp. Farrar and Rinehart, Inc., New York, 1945. xii 368 figs. 24 tables. 15 X 23 cm. Competition among texts for first-year college physics is so keen that any new book must be exceptional if i t is t o he outstanding. "Fundamentals of Physics'' is not exceptional, but it is fundamentally sound and should be successful. The p r e s e n t a t i ~of ideas has been worked out with great care. A simple and direct example is f i s t presented, words are carefully defined, and then the whole idea is expanded. Great care is taken t o avoid analogies, as leading t o loose thinking and confusion rather than clarity of thought. The treatment is in almost every case brief and directly t o the point. I n fact, some may feel that too many of the usual derivations of formulas are omitted and too many statements made without indicated experimental or theoretical support. This approach was deliberate, in order t o shorten the book. but a few sections such as those on the kinetic theory of gases and the theory of the hydrogen atom have been treated fully t o show how far one can go in physics with elementary methads. I t is quite apparent that the author is in complete command of his subject, and acceptance of the book must depend upon whether or not one approves of the method of presentation. At the end of each chapter is a long list of problems and many searching questions. Proper use of the questions should force the student t o fill in many of the gaps in the formal presentation.
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Answers t o all the add-numbered problems are given in t h e appendix, together with a useful glossary of physics terms and the usual tables. The book is also smaller than usual because of an almost complete lack of photographs. Numerous drawings and diaa a m s occur throurhout the book.. but thev " ~ cannot .helo. the student to viwalize instruments and dcviecs associated with the practical applications of the subject. Careful demonstration Iecturm, or a good set of lantern slide?., should be used with thi5 text. The chapters on mechanics are well done, with many clever approaches that should help the student t o deal wisely with questions of force, weight, mass, power, and acceleration. No wave theory is presented. The topics of heat are fairly well covered, especially in the kinetic theory, hut the carrelatian of the gas laws, as shown in the P-V-Tsolid is completely missing. The sections on electricity are conventional, except for the lack of the oft-misused water analogy of electrical cells and circuits. The treatment of alternating currents includes vector diagrams for the impedance effects of inductance and capacitance. Electrostatic, electromagnetic, and practical units are all used in appropriate sections. The M-K-S system is only briefly described. Sound is verv brieflv covered. with little mathematics and no real wave theory. T h e treatment of light is more complete and includes a brief discussion of nuclear phenomena. This book may be called a streamlined physics text, with t h e emphasis on the physics and not on the applications of physics. It is well adapted t o the teaching of the fundamentals hut will not be of much use as a reference work for students of other fields of science. E. P. LITTLE P-sS EXBTBR.
EXZTBB
ACIDBUY
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COLLEOECHEMISTRY.Herman T.Brircoc, Professor of Chemistry, Indiana University. Hougbtou Mifflin Company, 586 pp. 267 figs. 23 tables. 19 X Boston, 1945. viii 25cm. 53.50. The present work of Professor Briscoe's is a revision of his "Introduction to College Chemistry." According t o the preface, the general plan and objectives of the hook remain unchanged; the alterations which have been made are largely ones of method of presentation and sequence of topics. One of the major innovations is the adoption of a two-column, larger page which contributes as greatly to the reduction of eye fatigue a s does the very clear type. If in the temper of the day one had t o classify this book a s radical or conservative, it would probably be placed just left of center. The book follows the conservative approach of developing the subject historically, but modern theories have been iatraduced very early where it has been found pedagogically helpful. Thus, while the atomic theory of Dalton, including the Law of Multiple Proportions, precedes the discussion of the structure of atoms, the latter appears in an elementary way in Chapter 3. The topic of structure of atoms. t o be sure, is taken up a ~ a i nmore completely in Chapter 12. The dijcussion o l acids and bases. inclt~dinghydrolysis. follows the definitions of llrdnsted and the subject i f strong electrolytes is hased upon the concepts of t h e Debye-Hiickel theory. To quote the preface, "the author has emphasized, wherever they could be used t o advantage, current concepts of the structure of atoms and molecules, of the electron theory of valence, of the properties of solutions of electrolytes, of acids and bases, and of other subjects concerning which views have changed during recent years, hut he has tried t o present these views, not alone and apart as the whole story, but as they are related to the views that preceded them." For a book designed for an intermediate level of attainment, the chaoten devoted t o descriotive chemistrv are unusuallv full and c o ~ p l c t e . I n addition to the tradiriaod material, he has included brief desmiptions of the less familiar elemcntr and their compounds. The l,horographs are of recent origin and excellent
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