NEW BOOKS Organic Chemistry. A n Advanced Treatise. Vols. I and 11. By HENRYGILMAN, Editor-in-Chief. 1890 pp. New York City: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1938. Price: $15.00 (complete). This treatise has been prepared under the editorship of a board composed of Roger Adams, Homer Adkins, Hans Clarke, Carl Marvel, Frank Whitmore, and Henry Gilman, Editor-in-Chief. In addition, twenty-two contributors have shared in this undertaking. The following sentences, taken from the preface, will make clear the general plan of this treatise. “There is a need for a general treatise of organic chemistry suitable for instruction a t the graduate level. Such a book must focus attention upon new developments. At best, i t can but serve the purpose of the moment and provide a point of departure for unceasing revision. The idea of a collaborative work by specialists in the several branches of the science was developed in 1934. Each author was asked t o prepare a chapter dealing with a subject of particular interest to himself. It was hoped to obtain, in this way, an authoritative treatise which would cover most of the important phases of organic chemistry. . . . ” “It is planned t o revise both volumes a t intervals, not only in order to bring the present material up to date, but also to permit the inclusion of new chapters to fill the more conspicuous gaps.” Volume I contains the following chapters: (1) Alicyclic Compounds and the Theory of Strain, by R . C. Fuson (51pages). (2) Theory of the Structure and Reactions of Aromatic Compounds, by L. F . Fieser (98 pages). (3) Stereoisomerism, by R . L. Shriner, Roger Adams, and C. S. Marvel (256 pages). (4) Organometallic Compounds, by H . Gilman (83 pages). (5) Free Radicals, by W. E. Bachmann (53 pages). (6) Unsaturation and Conjugation, by C. F. H. Allen and A. H. Blatt (67 pages). (7) Open-chain Nitrogen Compounds, by C. D. Hurd (111 pages). (8) Molecular Rearrangements, by E. S. Wallis (82 pages). (9) Comparison of Chemical Reactivity, by H. Adkins (57 pages). Again quoting from the preface, “For the sake of convenience in revising and expanding the book, the rapidly developing fields of natural products, relationship between physical properties and chemical constitution, valence and resonance have been grouped together in the second volume.” Acpordingly, Volume I1 contains t h e following chapters: (10) Natural Amino Acids, by H. T. Clarke (89 pages). (11) The Chemistry of the Pyrimidines, Purines, and Nucleic Acids, by Treat B. Johnson (70 pages). (12) Alkaloids, by Lyndon Small (96 pages). (13) The Anthocyanins and the Flavones, by Karl Paul Link (24 pages). (14) Carotenoids: The Polyene Pigments of Plants and Animals, by Marston Taylor Bogert (82 pages). (15) The Sterols, Bile Acids, and Related Compounds, by William H . Strain (179 pages). (16) Carbohydrates I, by M. L. Wolfrom (78 pages). (17) Carbohydrates 11, by Albert L. Raymond (57 pages). (18) Carbohydrates 111--Cellulose, by Emil Heuser (57 pages). (19) Modern Electronic Concepts of Valence, by John R. Johnson (61 pages). (20) Constitution and Physical Properties of Organic Compounds, by Wallace R. Brode and John A. Leermakers (117 pages). (21) Rotatory Dispersion, by P. A. Levene and Alexandre Rothen (67 pages). (22) The Signifi975
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cance of Resonance to the Xature of the Chemical Bond and the Structure of Molecules, by Linus Pauling (71 pages). A glance a t the chapter headings suffices to reveal the scope of this work. A more careful study of the individual chapters will further reveal that the individual authors have devoted considerable time and effort to their tasks. Each chapter opens with an outline and closes with a number of references. This two-volume treatise should be in the personal library of every graduate student in chemistry.
W. M. LAUER. Die Theorie der Komplexitat und der Allotropie. By A. Srwrs. 22 x 16 cm. ; xii + 372 pp.; 5 plates. Berlin: Verlag Chemie, 1938. Price: 19.50 RM. Professor Smits in his book gives a full account of his theory of the complexity of the phases of a so-called simple substance (homogeneous allotropy), together with a detailed description of the experimental basis on which i t is founded. The theoretical treatment is based on P,T,x diagrams and is illustrated by a number of clear and informative figures. The experimental work described includes a full discussion of the effects of intensive drying, and particular attention is devoted to sulfur trioxide, for which a large amount of experimental data is available. Other important systems are also discussed in sufficient detail to make the book a comprehensive monograph on its subject, which is one of considerable interest. The author has taken pains t o make his account clear and understandable, and advanced students will be able to read the book with profit. Full references to literature are given, so that workers in cognate fields will be able to consult the original works. The book is very well produced and can be recommended to physical chemists. J. R. PBRTINGTON. Der Smekal-Raman Efelct. Erganzungsband, 1931-1937. By K. W. F. KOHLRAUSCH.15 x 22 cm.; ix and 288 pp. Berlin: Julius Springer, 1938. Price: 24 and 25.60 RM. If testimony were needed for the industry of chemists and physicists, i t is well supplied by this book. T ~ author P states that some four thousand Raman spectra have been investigated, and approximately twelve hundred publications on the subject have appeared since the issue of his “parent” volume in 1931. Both the results themselves and the underlying development of theory are presented with completeness and with precision. In fact, readers of the original book will value the sense of balance which experience has brought about as knowledge has extended. Perhaps the most valuable parts of these additional pages are those concerned with the optical model of the molecule, and with the “Polarizability theory” of Placzek. The advance in technique is well illustrated by the author’s treatment of light sources and filters. In addition, there is a massive amount of tabular matter, admirably arranged. Physical chemists will be grateful for this supplementary volume; with its help, the task of keeping up-to-date is considerably lightened. F. I. G. RAWLINS. Konlinuierlirhe Spektren. By W. FINKELNBURG.24 x 18 cm.; xi and 368 pp. Berlin: Julius Springer, 1938. Price: 33 RM. This scholarly work is undoubtedly a very valuable contribution t o the study of continuous spectra. The author defines a s continuous any spectrum not consisting of sharp lines. As a result of this a very wide ground requires t o be covered.
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This book is not oiily an admirable introduction to the whole broad field, i t is also a complete report .upon the present state of our knowledge of the subject. In the hroader sense, the study of eontinua is rapidly acquiring more and more importanre for physics, chemistry, engineering, and astronomy, and in order to meet the needs of such diverse possible readers, each chapter is preceded by a preliminary nonmathematical treatment. Summarizing chapters containing brief but romplete surveys of the available experimental material are included. The range covered is very wide and the treatment is thorough. A particularly clear and admirably concise section is that dealing with line widths, the many complex factors being clearly separated. Line broadening is treated as a limiting case of continua, a method of approach leading to important results. The contributions of the author himself in this field are %ell known. The book contains much of interest t o the chemist, since molecular continua naturally occupy the most important place. In that section which is effectively a report, detailed information is given about all the known diatomic and more complex molecular continua. Chapters upon the continuous spectra of liquids, solutions, and crystals are also included. Constant attention is given throughout to technical applications and to such varied aspects as photochemistry, flames, molecular dissociation, chemiluminescence, after-glows, etc. The book closes with a n extremely valuable list containing over seventeen hundred publications culled from practically every journal devoted to physics, chemistry, and astronomy. Enough has been said t o show t h a t this treatise deserves a very warm welcome. S. TOLANSKY.
Introduction t o Physiological Chemistry. By MEYER BODANSKY.4th edition. 14.5 x 23 em.; 686 pp. New York; John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1938. Price: $4.00. The fourth edition of this valuable textbook has been brought up-to-date by inclusion of much new material. The generally lucid style has been maintained, and the relation of the science t o practical medicine has been kept in mind without in general sacrificing scientific accuracy or rigorousness. The most attractive feature of the book is perhaps the fact that the physiological aspects of chemistry are constantly brought t o the fore. In places the author has, in the opinion of the reviewer, made somewhat too dogmatic assertions on the basis of a review of portions of the literature. I t is perhaps inevitable that this would occur in such an ambitious undertaking. An example of this defect occurs on p. 168 where the author outlines in full an application of the Donnan membrane equilibrium theory t o the mechanism of the secretion of hydrochloric acid by the gastric glands. He says, categorically, “The soundness of this theory has heen confirmed experimentally by Donnan, who has shown tshat, under such circumstances, hydrochloric acid may actually be “secreted” across a membrane.” KO modern physiological investigator of gastric secretion subscribes t o the view that concentrations of hydrochloric acid such as found in gastric juice could possibly be formed by such a process. The earlier investigator cited was unfortunately unaware of many of the facts in the situation, particularly of the concentrations in plasma and gastric juice of certain constituents. Later in his discussion Bodansky cites some of the evidence which, if critically interpreted, disproves Donnan’s contentions. The biochemistry of the sterols and other phenanthrenes is inadequately treated. For example, the digitalis group of glucosides is discussed under rarbohydrates, and although empirical formulas are given for many of them, no reference is made there to their phenanthrene structure. This is certainly the most important aspect
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of their chemistry from a biological as well as chemical viewpoint. Since their aglucones have similar though less intense actions, it is obvious that the glucoside linkage is a minor point. These critical details are not presented as serious defects, but to call attention t o the fact that improvements are still possible. The mastery of any considerable portion of the subject matter in this book would represent a comprehensive grasp of modern physiological chemistry. The references to original and review literature are ample and well chosen. The index of 30 pages is very useful. MACRICEB. VISSCHER. Spectroscopy i n Science and Industry. Proceedings of the Fifth Summer Conference on Spectroscopy and its Applications, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts. 134 p p . ; 60 fig. S e w York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1938. Twenty-seven papers given a t the 1937 conference have been collected in this volume in abbreviated form. They range in content from papers on physics, chemistry, metallurgy, biology, medicine, geology, and astronomy t o papers on industry, in so far as these various fields use spectroscopy as a tool. Most of the leading American workers in applied spectroscopy are numbered among the authors. As Dr. George R. Harrison points out in the preface, the spectrograph is a t,ool whose use is rapidly increasing. Hence these confereuces and also the present volume are very timely and should be of interest to many workers in scientific research, since they may learn that their own rrsearch may be furthered by application of spectrographic methods. GEO.GLOCKLER. T h e Elements of Quantum 3lechanics. By SAULDUSHMAS. 452 pp. ; 82 fig. ?;en York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1938. Price: $5.00. This volume arose from a series of lectures given by the author during the summer of 1932 a t the Ohio State University. The notes prepared for these lectures appeared in a series of articles in the Journal of Chemical Education (1935 36) and have now been collected and arranged in book form. Dr. Dushman’s chief aim is to discuss the latest views of atomic and molecular structure as described in the new quantum mechanics, in such a simple fashion that the average reader, who knows only calculus, can profit by a study of this book. He spares no effort in trying t o make the mathematical development clear and understandable. However. in order t o grasp the full significance of these newer concepts, it seems that a knowledge of differential equations and methods of solving them is quite necessary. Evidently Dr. Dushman feels the same way about this situation, for in the second chapter he deals in detail with some simple differential equations as, for example, the case of the vibrating string. This procedure serves as an introduction to the famous Schroedinger equation of lvave mechanics. The content of the hook is the usual one in such a beginning treatise: the Schroedinger equation, potential barriers, linear ascillator, rigid rotator, the hydrogen atom, van der Waals forces, the perturbation theory, the helium atom, the hydrogen molecule and its rotational and vibrational states, valency bonds, activation and resonance energy and radiation theory. But even so it is always an advantage t o study these newer ideas from differeut authors. A rewording of a given topic by another writer may make its meaning clear to a reader who may have failed to grasp the logic of the development as rendered in the first book studied. Each chapter has an ample list of literature references. This treatise is therefore a welcome addition to the literature of this important subject.
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The printing of the many mathematical formulae of most intricate design is excellent, and the figures are executed in admirable fashion. The clarity of expression on the part of the author and the admirable work done by the publishers make this volume welcome also to those workers who already have some knowledge of the newer logic. It has been a distinct privilege and a matter of enjoyment t o review this book. GBO. GLIXKLER.
Germanfor Chemists. By J . H. YOEAND A. BURQEIR.537 pp. New York: PrenticeHall Inc., 1938. Price: $4.50. It has always been troublesome to find suitable reading material i n teaching chemical German to students. This book supplies such material. It presupposes a good grounding in German grammar. The first part consists of practice in sentence structure, and both the German and the equivalent English sentences are given on opposite pages. Following this are sections of reading matter on inorganic chemistry (79 pages), organic chemistry (81 pages), analytical chemistry (01 pages), physical chemistry (62 pages), colloid chemistry (31 pages), chemical technology (64 pages), physiological chemistry (32 pages), and extracts from German books and magazines (32 pages). The subject matter of each section, including the sentence structure matter, is progressive and is therefore a n excellent review of the various fields of chemistry. The book is an excellent one and should find considerable use in teaching scientific German. Unless it is used not earlier than the third year in college it would not have the maximum value in teaching, be‘cause the student could not greatly benefit from sections dealing with material that is usually given in chemistry courses ordinarily taken during the last two years of college. C. A. MA”. Die Diffusionsanalyse am Blutplasmagel. By RUDOLFBUCHER. 123 pp.; 70 fig. 16 x 24 cm. Basel, Switzerland: Benno Schwabe and Go. Verlag, 1937. Price: 30 Swiss francs. The author describes a method of transforming the blood plasma into a gel so t h a t Liesegang rings can be obtained if a 5 per cent silver nitrate solution is allowed to diffuse into the potassium dichromate-impregnated gel. The method is applied to different physiological and pathological problems, so that the book is of interest both t o colloid chemists and to physicians. Colloid chemists find in this book one of the most important contributions t o the problem of the Liesegang phenomenon made in recent years. The results are given in small type between pages 15 and 35. The author Rhows that the Liesegang phenomenon can be obtained in a quantitatively reproducible manner if certain experimental factors (e.g., temperature) are rigorously the same. Reproducibility means t h a t the “Latenz Zone” (L. Z.) and the “Latena Periode” (L. P.) have rather constant values if identical experiments are made with the same blood plasma. (L. Z. means the distance between the surface of the gel where the silver nitrate diffusion starts and the place where the first ring appears. L. P. is the time elapsing between the start of the diffusion and the appearance of the first ring.) This result removes much of the hazardous character inherent in the phenomenon up to now. Using a microtome the author carries out a topographical study of the gels formed. By this method he obtains very remarkable results with respect to the repartition of the crystalline precipitate of silver dichromate throughout the gel and t o the size and number of the crystals inside and outside the Liesegang ring zones. As far as the main purpose of the author is concerned, Le., the attempt to use his method in physiology and pathology, a definite statement must be reserved until
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more experimental material has been collected. The data already given show that the method issensitive for very small changes in chemical composition and the colloid chemical behavior of the blood plasma. L. 2. and L. P. are different for different animals. They differ noticeably if the blood has been taken from different parts of a body. They change with the age of the organism and even with very slight changes in conditions of life. Their statistical mean values are different for the two sexes, etc. This extreme sensitivity of the method is a t the same time its strength and its weakness. It is regrettable that the author writes in a rather circumstantial style and uses without necessity a number of unusual German words and certain colloid chemical expreseions of vague meaning. The book is very well printed and illustrated, and contains numerous colored h t e s of remarkable technical quality. WILFREDHELLER.
Chemicul Kinetics. By FARRINGTON DANIELS. 6 x 9 in.; 273 pp.; 41 fig. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1938. Price: $3.25. Although this book is based on lectures a t Cornell University under the George Fisher Baker Non-resident Lectureship in Chemistry from February to June, 1935, it contains new developments in the field up to 1938. The object of the author has been to give the historical background as well as recent advances in chemical kinetics. In doing this he has followed the tradition of Baker Lectures by drawing illustrations from his own rich experiences in the laboratory. The lectures have been addreksed not only to experts but to students in all of the physical sciences. With this purpose in mind, experimental work has been stressed and mathematical discussion minimized. However, without employing it extensively Professor Daniels emphasizes repeatedly the use which is and can be made of mathematics in solving fundamental chemical problems. The informal style of the book and the optimistic views of the author toward research are refreshing to the reader. Theoretical kineticists will profit from the review of many well-chosen experiments upon which modern theoretical developments are based. Research ideas abound throughout the book, and workers in other fields may see where chemical kinetics could help in solving their problems. To students and beginners in research this book will be especially inspiring. Unsolved research problems are so interspersed with seemingly equally difficult problems which have been worked out, that one is led to feel that the barriers to their ultimate solution are by no means insurmountable. The first half of the book gives the elementary principles of kinetics as well as some details of experimental technique, nhile the second half is devoted to the use which may be made of fiuch research tools as photochemistry, elertrical activation, infrared spectroscopy, and isotopic tracers in this field. F. E. BLACET. W. A. KOYES.JR.
