language and may appear to some to he lacking a measure of "physical feeling'' for thermodynamic concepts and funotions. On the plus side, the chapters are short and easily read once familiarity with nomenclature is established. The number and quality of problems are adequate. The text is not intended to he as comprehensive in scope and application as Glasstone or Klot~,. Aecordingly there are less oonorete examples and the prohlems are less numerous and practical than in either of these texts. An introductory chapter to statistical t,hermodynamicsis included for the benetit of students in their first and terminal gredunte course of thermodynrtmics. This may be desirable hut the ohapter is decid~dlylacking in fundamental quantum mechanical concepts which are covered superficixlly, if a t all, in an elementaly phypicsl chemistry course, which, as the author states in the preface, is the only preparation necessary in chemistry. An introduction to statistical thermodynamics under such conditions is of questionable worth. The last chapter deals with more sophisticated approaches to the evolution of interrelations hetween thermodynamic derivatives and includes the use of Jwohaus, transformations of Koenig and Prin8, among others. This chapter although intriguing t o the ma.thematicdly inclined is of douhtful pedagogical or othw value.
WILLIAM J. JAMES Uniuemity of Missoun School of Mines and .Ifetallurgy Ralal Henry Cavendirh: His Life and Scientific
Work
A. J. Berry, Fellow Emeritus of Downing College, Cambridge University. Hutchinson 8- Co., Ltd., London, 1960. 208 pp. Figs. 15 X 23.5 cm. 35/-.
The most recent extended treatment of Cavendish before this one, namely "Scientific Papers," edited by Larmor and Thorpe, appeared in 1921. This two-volume set was intended for speciallists; hence the present text will be welcomed by the general reader. The author is completely a t home in his subject and ~ympathetio in his approach; he has turned out good hook. Henry Cavendish (1731-1810) like most of the natural philosophers of his era was both a chemist and physicist. He was a competent mathematician as well as a skilled manipulcttar, and was skilful in devising apparatus. Possessed of ample funds, he never held a paid position, and like his father was a true am* teur. He was shy and reticent, and his biography makes rather dull reading if the incidents illustrating his eccentricities are omitted. To him, the outside world merely afforded opportunities far making measurements of volumes, weights, etc., activities which he aecomplished in exemplsry fashion. "When Cavendish's researches are viewed as a vhole, certain features are character-
(Continued on page A&)
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istically predominant, notably a wide range of interests, a passion for accuracy, and a remarksble gift of making suitable choice of subjects worth investigae "In most of his work his ing.. trend of thought seems to have been straight towards the course of the suhsequent progress of science" (Sir Edward Thorpe). After a chapter dealing with the ancestry and personal characteristics of I Cavendish, the author sets the scene for Cavendish's researches by a masterly exposition of "physiod and chemical science in the eighteenth century." Then follows a chapter on the chemical researches, whioh dealt mostly with "inflammable air," "fixed air," and the "air produced from vegetable and animal Hia work substances by distillation!' is recounted in fair detail and his 6ndinga are put into their proper relationship with subsequent findings. Much of the ms, terial has been drawn from Cavendish's unpublished papers, of which there is a considerable amount. His eudiometric work is treated in sufficient detail, including his unwitting isolation of the rare gases of the atmosphere. The author, after due consideration, dubs him the founder of water analysis. The famed 'water controversy' is fairly presented in the chapter The Discovery of the Camposition of Water. "The claims of Cavendish for priority aver those of Lavoisier for having synthesized water from its elements were thus clearly demonstrated!' Cavendish, of course, maintained that there was no reason for relin-
. ."
the more to eonvim me of the impropriety of systematio names in chemistry and the great mischief thst will follow from his (Lrwoi~ier's)scheme if it should come into use." Four chapters of the volume under review are devoted t o the purely physical investigations, namely two chapter8 on the electricd researches, one on the remarches an heat, and finally a chapter devoted to the meteorological subjects. This latter chapter is chiefly taken up with the famous "Cavendish experiment," in which he made an outstanding determination of the density of the earth. Since these chapters contain principally discussions of topics primarily related to physics, they will not he analyned here but they can be highly recommended to students of the history of physios and physical chemistry. The concluding chapter deals with Cavendish and Modem Science. Here Cavendish and his work are considered from the standpoint of the subsequent developments. He emerges with flying colors. A reading of this chapter will all the more impress the reader of this h e book with the aptness of the opening sentence in which reference is made to "Henry Cavendish, one of the greatest scientific discoverers of all time."
RALPH E. OESPER University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio (Continued on page A&)
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