quantities and operations;
5. [4 pp.] table of fundamental physical
opment, especially in the area of problems and examples. The special topic on introduction to mass spectrometry is, however, quite good. Stereochemistry is treated in several different chapters and is introduced quite early. Even so, relatively few examples are used to explain the application of some of these difficult concepts, especially under cycloalkane stereochemistry. As with the previous editions, theauthor's writing style is brief and concise. However, the text is about the same length as most of the competitors in this field, not including the life sciences and special topics chapters a t the end of the text. Multiple colors are used extensively. While this can be effective with some tonics..the usaee here often seems superfluous and even annoying. The index is adequate, unless one wishes to l w k up a particular compound.
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Jerome A. Roth Northern Michigan Universny Marquelie. Mi 49855
(IuanlRles, U n l b and Symbols In Physical Chemistry Prepared forgublication by Ian MINs. T* mislav Cvltas, Klaus Homann, Nlkola KaC lay, andKozo Kuchiisu. Blackwell Scientific Publications: Palo ARo. CA, 1988. ix 134 pp. 19.3 X 28 cm. $32.50. A 25% discount is available for affiliate members of IUPAC.
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constants, from the 1986 revision by the CODATA Task Group on Fundamental Constants; 6. [I6 pp.] tables of (a) properties of particles (electron, proton, ete.), (b) the 1985 Standard Atomic Weights, (c) properties of the individual nuclides (mass, abundance, nuclear spin, etc.); 7. 120 pp.] discussion of, and tables for, conversion of units, including esu, emu, Gaussian, and atomic units systems; 8. [I6 pp.] references, alphabetical index to all symbols used in the book and tables for conversion of pressure and energy units. Many scientists, rugged individualists that they are, are disinclined to refer to a book such as this when the need for a symbol/~nit/~uantity arises, preferring to generate their awn, more or less de nouo. I urge them to take a different approach to this book. Theraison d'etre of QUS is efficiency in exchange of information, presumably also one of the goals of authors, teachers, and students. A chemist can save a lot of tune by consulting this hook and thereby taking advantage of the merged wisdom of a large number of talented people who, over the past century, have thought long and hard ahout these matters. By following the recommendations, the chemist maximizes the likelihood that hisher notation and nomenclature are understood by chemists worldwide; furthermore, with rare exception, the recommendations in QUS are in accord with similar recommendations by IUPAP (Physics) and I S 0 (International Standards Organization), which should aid communication across disciplines-if everyone uses the recommendations. Nevertheless. the chemist -r m decide not to follow the recommendations if that seems necessarylappropriate to thespecificcase. QUS contains recommendatiooa nut edicts; IUPAC has nu"Knforcement Squad". In spite of my strong recommendation of QUS, there are some deficiencies. In several places, particularly in the Electrochemistry subsection, the supplementary text does not have the lucid, unambiguous quality that this type of b w k demands. In the Table of Physical Quantities, under the heading SZ unit, the coherent SI unit (e.g., mol/m3) is always given, the argument being that this is the one and only SI unit for a given quantity; it becomes clear only after diligent search (p. 63) that decimal multiples and suhmultiples of the coherent SI units (e.g., malldm3, mol/L, mmolImL) are also perfectly acceptable under this set of recommendations. Lastly, there is one recommendation that I consider to be a horrendous mistake; unfortunately, it is of considerable importance to chemists. QUS recommends that the ''true" thermodynamic equilibrium constant be represented by either Ke or K. The opinion of many (mast?) thermodynamicists is: K, undecorated by suh/superscript, is correct, but it can be ambiguous; only the context tells one whether the author really meant K, or if helshe forgot to add a subscript m, p, e, ete.; given the conventional meaning of the standard-state superscript (a meaning widely accepted for a t least 60 "ears)... Ke is simnlv . . wrone- or.. a t best, grossly misleading. My advice: Buy the hook, use it routinely, and ignore their Ke. ~~
This book, QUS, should he on the desk of every chemistry teacher in the world and of every chemistry major, graduate and undergraduate. It contains "everything you ever wanted to know" about physical quantities, symbols, and units (SI and others). In one sense, this new "Green Book" (to use the IUPAC vernacular) isa successor toManual of Symbols and Terminology for Physicochemical Quantities and Units, produced by NPAC's Physical Chemistry Division in three editions (1969,1973,1979). However, the greatly expanded coverage of the 1988 version (e.g., 134 pages vs. 40) justifies the new title and consideration as a new publication. QUS has eight major sections: 1. [lo pp.] general discussion of physical quantities and quantity calculus; 2. [50 pp.] the heart of the book: Tables of Physical Quantities, with 15 convenient subsections (Spectroscopy, General Chemistry, Electrochemistry, etc.), which give the name, symbol, definition, and SI unit for each physical quantity; 3. [lo pp.] definitions and symbols for units. most of which are strictly SI from the International committee and Bureau for Weiehts and Measures (CII'M. RIPMJ,kt new recommendanaris for atomic units, wtdely used m quantum merhanncal ralculationr, are included; 4. [8 pp.] symbols for mathematical
A188
Journal of Chemical Education
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Robert D. Freeman OkiahDma State University Stillwater. OK 74078
