book reviews The first seven chapters are done quite well. The last three chapters, however, are neither representative nor sufficiently detailed to be of general value. The section an organic photochemistry (Chapter 8) is so full of errors ( ? ) t h a t it is useless except to the already informed reader. More aggressive editing, more careful proofreading, and fewer cost shortcuts in producing the hookcould have prevented many of these flaws In general, the reviewers feel that far the student who wishes to have an introductory photochemistry text in his library a t a reasonable cost, this book should be considered. Paul D. Davis Douglas C. Neckers Sowling Green State University Bow1;g Green, OH 43403
Radloactivlty In Amerlca: Growth and Decay of a Science Lawrence Bndorh, The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1979. xviii + 326 pp. Tables. 16 X 24 cm. $18.95. It is not widely appreciated that the subject of radioactivity had substantial interest in the United States during the first two decades of the twentieth century. The names of Curie, Rutherford, Soddy, and Hahn loom so large in research on radioactivity that the names of Boltwood, McCoy, Moore, Schlundt, Pegram, and Lind tend to be overlooked, even in America. Lawrence Badash has brought the American contributions into perspective. Despite the lack of a vigorous American research tradition and lack of the facilities of the European investigaturs, the contributions of the Americans, particularly Boltwood, were significant. The book is more than a look a t American contributions, however. The author weaves a tapestry depicting the worldwide growth of knowledge and soolication of radioactivity. .. The uncovering of understanding of radioactive phenomena is developed carefully. The interplay of American investigators with the European leaders is fully documented. Attention is also given to practical applicalions of radioactive materials in medicine and industry, including the tragic incident of the watch-dial painters. Particularly interesting and useful are the chapters dealing with the phenomenon of transmutation and the resultant problem of the genealogy of decay sequences, leading ultimately to recognition uf isotopes and the radioactive displacement laws. The mles of Soddy, Fajans, and Russell in clarifying these latter concepts is carefully developed. A useful tool in reading the book is a set of three tables preceding the text which shows the decay series of uranium, thorium, and actinium using the original terms for the successive decay products together with the elemental identification, symbol, radiatim, A242 / Journal o f Chemical Education
reference for identification purposes. In summary, Professor Badash has provided us with an excellent study. It is valuable nut only for bringing American activities into perspective, but also it gives a good history of the first quarter century of radioactivity. Aaron J. lhde University of Wisconsin M8dison. WI 53706
Hazardous Chemical Splll Cleanup
J. S. Robinson, (Editor), Noyes Data Corporation, Park Ridge, New Jersey, 1979. V 406 pp. Figs. and tables. 23.5 X 15.8 cm. $48.00.
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Newspaper headlines and TV coverage of spills of toxic or flammable chemicals by tank-car derailments or crashes of trailer trucks have given rise to increasing public concern over such threatening accidents. Bath the prospects of immediate hazard to citizens and of long-term damage to the environment are recognized. There is asense of urgency for responding immediately to chemical spillage by correct containment, counter measures, and cleanup. Assuch, the present book could prove to be a handy reference for any college chemistry department called for consultation in a neighborhood crisis. Theereatest usefulnessof the hook in colleges, however, will be as a text training professionals to handle such problems. The book consists mmtly of excerpts from reports by government agencies and their contractors. There is an introductory overview of the legislation governing the prevention and cleanup of hazardous spills. Where to report them and whom to call for help are listed. Then, methods for responding to various types of spills are covered with recommendations for disposal and restoration. The editor appears to have exercised gnod critical selectivity, and errors seem minimal. The book would be more useful in a reference library if there were a complete index in addition to the extended table of contents. Malcolm M . Renfrew University of Idaho MOSCOW. iD 83843
Black-Body Theory and the Quantum Discontinuity, 1894-1912
Thomas S. Kuhn, Oxford, Clarendon Press; New York, Oxford University Press, 1978. viii 356 pp. Figs. & tables 23.5 X 16 cm. $24.00.
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Thomas Kuhn is, without any question, a distinguished historian of science, whose ideas have already had a deep influence not only on his own discipline but also in related
fields as well. His book, "TheTheory of Scientific Revolutions" has had a broad impact on the scientific community and has been reviewed, discussed, and criticized extensively. His latest endeavor, reviewed here, deals with a more restricted topic. More technical in nature, it will affect a smaller segment of the scientific world but doubtlessly will cause heated debates. It has already been the abject of a review symposium'. The hook is devoted t o the momentous years during which the quantum theory took shape and its main objective is essentially to trace the course of Max Planck's thought during that period. The history of a scientific idea is never as simple as it might appear from the reading of a textbook, and Kuhn provides us with a valuable illustration of the complexity of scientific progress, of the tortuous path of scientific thought. One generally associates the birth of the quantum theory with Planck's successful treatment of blaek-body radiation in 1900, when he ~ostulatedthat the energy of the resonators inside the cavity could only vary in jumps, being restricted to multiples of hv. Kuhn shows us that the genesis of these ideas is actually a much more complicated process. The unorthodox view that Planck did not explicitly introduce the quantization of the energy of a resonator in his paper of 1900 is the main theme of Kuhn's book. According to Kuhn, Planck's views a t that time were still essentially classical and actually maintained the notion of an energy continuum for an oscillator. Kuhn's opinion is that the notion of a continuum was still present in Planck's work of the ensuing years, and that it is only in 1909, under the influence of other physicists, particularly Ehrenfest and Einstein, that Planck finally came to admit the existence of the quantum and to recognize the fact that this treatment implied a radical break with classical physics. Did Planck truly believe in the existence of the quantum in the years stretching from 1900-1909, or not? The question is far from simple. It requires reaching into the inner thoughts of a man, into the hazy realm located beyond consciousness which is practically impossible to scrutinize unambiguously. It is a question to which Planek himself pmbably would not have had a clear answer in those years. Kuhn attempts to dissect the evolution of Planck's views, and, in doing so, he uncovers a numher of inconsistencies, obscure points, and misleading statements. Planck appears, to some extent, to be a man of contradictions, and this characteristic should not came as a surprise. Klein's suggestion that Planck himself was not always completely clear about what he was doing' points out most discerningly the complexity of the man's thought. Kuhn gives a most detailed analysis of the scientific works associated with the study of hlack-hody radiation and the genesis of the quantum theory. Several chapters are not easy reading and the book is obviously intended f i x the specialist in the history of modern physics. The chapter dealing with Plsnek's early work in thermodynamics contains a good description o f the sequence of events surrounding the development of the second law. Wesee that Planek held tor along time to an absolute, non-statistical interpretation of the second law. Kuhn links this belief to Planck's attachment t o an ubiqui-
