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NEW BOOKS
Gmeldna Handbuch der anorganischen Chemie. 8 Auflage. Herausgegeben von der
Deutschen Chemischen Gesellschaft. System-Nummer 66: Osmium, mit einem Anhang Uber Ekaosmium. 26 x 18 cm. ;pp. xx iv 100. Berlin: Verlag Chemie, 1939. Price: 14.26 RM. The present section of Gmelin constitutes a nearly complete monograph on OBmium. The arrangement follows the usual order, but the sections on the history and occurrence of osmium are omitted, as they are dealt with in the volume on platinum (now published). The properties of the metal and the preparation and properties of its compounds are given in detail. Apart from the oxides and the halogen compounds, the compounds of osmium do not seem to have been very fully studied, although there is a fairly large literature on complex compounds. The technical or other applications of osmium and its compounds are given. Ekaosmium is described as a product of neutron bombardment of uranium; the latest results in this field came too late to be included. J. R. PARTINGTON.
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Gmelina Handbuch der anorganischen Chemie. 8 Auflage. Herausgegeben von der Deutschen Chemischen Gesellschaft. System-Nummer 68: Platin. Teil A, Lieferung 1. 26 x 18 cm.; pp. ii 145. Berlin: Verlag Chemie, 1938. Price:
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18.60 RM.
The present volume deals with the history and occurrence of the platinum metals. The historical section of fourteen pages is of considerable interest and is based on a large literature, some parts of which are not easily accessible. Some of the earlier processes of extraction may still find application in future technology, as anyone who haa occasion to consult modern patent literature will know. The technical working of maasive platinum is, as usual, ascribed to Wollaston, although i t has been stated (Matthey: J. Chem. SOC. 10, 395 (1867)) that i t was really worked out in Allen’s laboratory by Thomas Cock, whose work was communicated to Wollaston, who haa “generally been accorded the credit of having discovered it.” The interesting story of the discovery of palladium is given in detail. The bulk of the section is devoted to the occurrence of the platinum metals and is of great value. All the known sources are considered, with statistical and economic details, and there are some valuable sections on the geochemistry of the metals, with maps. The sources in the Urals, Russia, and Siberia make up most of the description and there is a short section on Asiatic sources, the part on sources in Japan being translated from a Japanese manuscript. J. R. PARTINGTON.
Gmelins Handbuch der anorganischen Chemie. 8 Aufiage. Herausgegeben von der Deutschen Chemischen Gesellschaft. System-Nummer 22: Kalium. Lieferung 6. 26 x 18 om.; pp. xxxvi 1076-1230. Berlin: Verlag Chemie, 1938. Price: 21.75 RM. The present section completes the account of the chemistry of potassium and deals mostly with the double salts with the alkali metals. The long section on Rochelle salt is important, the optical, dielectric, and pieaochemical properties being considered in detail and illustrated by curves. J. R. PARTINGTON.
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Grneli* Handbuch der anorganischen Chemie. 8 Auflage. Herausgegeben von der Deutschen Chemischen Gesellschaft. System-Nummer 22: Kalium. Lieferung 7. 26 x 18 cm.; pp. xxxviii 1231-1338. Berlin: Verlag Chernie, 1938. Price: 16.90 RM.
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NEW BOOKS
The present section deals entirely with the technical preparation of potassium salts. After historical and economic sections (the latter with useful tabulated statistics of production from 1881 to 1936,from which i t appears that Germany and France are now the main producers), the text deals with methods of extraction from the raw materials and the preparation of each of the technically important potassium salts. There are long sections on the treatment of carnallite and kainite, including the working up of the magnesium salts. The text is descriptive and there are no phase rule diagrams. Felspar, leucite, glauconite, cement kiln and blast furnace dusts, sea water and sea weeds are given as sources, and there is a brief section on organic sources, but wood ash and suint do not seem to be included. The present section, i t will be seen, is of considerable technical interest. The main emphasis is on the Stassfurt sources, for which more information is available than is the case for some of the other technical sources. J. R. PARTINGTON. Reports on Progress i n Physics. Volume V. Published by the Physical Society (London). 26 x 18 cm.; iv 445 pp. Cambridge: The University Press, 1939. Price: 20s. The present volume of annual reports deals with the same general range of subjects as previous volumes, but the sections on electricity are much shorter and room is found for special topics such as adsorption in solutions, recent theories of the liquid state, plastics, instrumental aids to defective hearing, electric wave filters, cosmic rays, and the teaching of physics in schools. The standard is high, and the aim set out in the preface that the volumes shall be intelligible and interesting to non-specialists and a t the same time informative and suggestive to workers in special fields, is perhaps as nearly realized as i,s possible. Physical chemists will find much to interest them in the present volume. J. R. PARTINGTON.
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The Elements of Physical Chemistry. By F. W.GODDARD A K D E. .J. F. JAMES.viii 251 pp.; 67 figures. London: Longmans, Green and Company. Price: $1.80. This little book is designed for the study of physical chemistry by students in England who are preparing for Higher Certificate, First Medical, and University Entrance Schblarship Examinations. At the conclusion of each chapter questions and problems are inserted of the kind that might be met in the above-mentioned examinations. There are two hundred and fifty such questions and the answers are given in an appendix. The ten chapters cover the usual topics in a beginning book in physical chemistry: atomic structure; gaseous and liquid states; solutions; osmotic pressure and colligative properties; mass action; thermochemistry; electrolytes; catalysis; and colloids. The treatment is concise. Students in this country should find the extended list of problems with answers valuable in their own study of physical chemistry. GEO. GLOCKLER. Electron Optics. By the Research Staff of Electric and Musical Industries Limited. Compiled and written by Otto Klemperer. 8+ x 5+ in.; 84 figures; x 107 pp. Xew York: The Macmillan Company. Price: $1.75. This volume is the third addition to the new series of the Cambridge PhysicaE Tracts and gives an excellent account of a very modern and important topic. The use of electron beams functioning as light rays and their diffraction in electrostatic and magnetic fields opens up an important field of physics. The resolutions already
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