watered down course of study. I n my opinion, Ahrens, Bush, and Easley have taken a forward step in chemical education ROLLAND J. GLADIEUX MZT.\L.R E ~ E A I ~LABORATORIES C ~ . YO~R N,*~*"A F * L L ~NEV
CHEMICAL MARKET RESEARCH IN PRACTICE Edited by Richard E. Choddock, Director of Development, Virginia Cellulose Department, Hercules Powder Co. Reinhold Publishing Corp., New York, 1956. x 196 pp. Figs. and tables. 13.5 X 19.5 cm. $3.
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THISvolume, written by men who daily face the prohlems of market research in the chemical industly, ia a timely treatment of a. husiness function discussed hy many in ~ m m years t hut perhaps underst,ood by only a few. The first nine chanters do a commendable job of explaining what chemical market research is, how i t is organized, what i t accomplishes, what kind of people are engaged in market research, and what w e its limitat,ions. The book should hp espeeiall5- ufieful t o the college instructor who wishes t o inform his students of the nature of market research in the rhemical indostry. The business executive who is considering the establishment of a staff group t o perform chemiral market research will also find the hook revealing and though&provoking. There are a fcn topics treated that could well fwm t h ~subject of lively debate among those of us already engaged in rhemiral market research. One of these revolves around the sropc of activity of thc Market Research Department in dcnling with any partirulnv nrohlem. Some of the chapters imply t h a t the rhemiral m s ~ k e analyat t conccrns himself with p~ohlemsof market dewlopment and proress economic evaluation t o a greater degree than prohahly exists in most large chemical rampanies. The hook leaves the imptxssion t,hat a chemical market refiearch group normally covers more ground than most groups probahly do. The last seven chapters are cnac histories illustrating the nature of some of the market prohlems bhat might he encountered in certain spgments of the rhemiral industry. d. W. EVERSON
n o w CHEMICAL CO~~PINI MLDLIND. MICHIGAA
FUSION METHODS IN CHEMICAL MICROSCOPY
Walter C.McCrone, Jr., Chicago, Illinois. Interscience Publishers, Inc., New York, 1957. vii 307 pp. 118 figs. 2 5 tables. 1 5 X 2 3 cm. $6.75.
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"Fusros methods" include (1) the methods and procedures useful in research and analysis which involve heating s compound or a mixture of compounds (Continued n page A41P) JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
;P&
sm44
on a microscope slide and (2) d l ohservations made during heating of the preparation, on the melt itself, during solidification of the melt, and during further cooling. Chspter I describes methods; Chapter 11, commercislly available equipment; Chapter 111, techniques; and Chapter IV, applications. Chapter V (99 pages) contains four tables for the identification of 1189 organic compounds by measurement of the melting points and refractive indices of the melt. The gcnerel methods consist of determining the melting point, the eutretie melting points with two standard substances, and the temperature a t which s. glans powder standard (set covers range from 1.43 to 1.69 in 0.01 incrementsi has
characterist,ies such a s anomalous polarivation colors, unique shrinkage cracks or gas huhbles, odd crystal habit and transformation mechanism; of measuring eryntallographic properties, ete. Since only low magnifice*tions are required, low power objectives with Long working distance are suitable. The principal aooessory is the auxiliary stage dosignod to furnish the required temperstwe. Three hot stages are de~crihed. Some of theae are used in conjunction with an ordinary microsoape and some are complete instruments. A "hot bar," n long narrow hot plate having a. uniform temprrat,me gradient from end to end, is descrihcd, A microrefraetometer and a microspectrograph are deucrihed. The tcehniquo of using these instmmcnts i s described, followed by a disemsion of the observations useful in ehnruot,crizing and identifying fusible ~:ompo~inds.Other techniques performed un a microscopic scale include: detection of impurities (unsharp melting point) and cstirnation of purity, met,hods of purifieation (fractional crystdliation, fractional ahsor:>tion, etc.), analysis of mixtures (areal, counting, etc.); study of polpmorphism, determination of temperatnre-composition diagmms. Chapter IV outlines some applications of insion methods to special problems: kinetics oi crystal growth, thermal stahility of dscomposahle compounds, study of pour-point depressants in lubricating oil, recry~tallizationand grain growth. The hook is written in a. discussion style -not as laboratory directions. I t is a worthwhile outline and rderonoe for a person working on identification8 on a microscopic scale. CARL E. OTTO U N I V E ~ ~or I TM~A I N E OBONO, M*IAE
QUANTUM CHEMISTRY: AN INTRODUCnON
Walter Kauzmann, Princeton University. Academic Press, Inc., New York, 1957. xii 744 pp. Many figures and tables. 16 X 23.5 cm. $12.
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THIS is an important hook.
Its range
(Conlinued on page A414)
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
