of considerable interest will be found ANm.ARTICLE the April Dour Diamond (Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Michigan), "Fixation of atmospheric nitrogen." The author, Dr. W. Hirschkiud, worked in Haber's laboratory whiie getting his de&e and was present when the first ammonia was produced synthetically. He traces briefly the work that was done by both Haber and Nernst on the ammonia equilibrium -with the clash that took place between the two over the accuracy of r e s u l t s a n d the subsequent perfection of the large-scale process. He describes his own personal reactions as follows: "As a young student in Haber's laboratory a t the Institute of Technology a t Karlsruhe, Germany, it was my good fortune durinz 1908 to witness a demonstration where nitrogen . and hydrogen were combined in continuous flow t o ammonia, which was taken in liquid form from the apparatus. This was the culmination of several years' efiort arising out of the HaberNernst controversy about the ammonia equilibrium. "While everyone present realized they had witnessed an historical moment, i t was difficult for us to understand the skepticism of chemists and engineers not familiar with the history of this development. It seemed so obvious to us that the solution of the problem of nitrogen fixation had arrived. Moreover, this develooment was the forerunner of all bieh-oressure work ~~~~- . in the chemical industry, being applied t o hydrogenation of coal. oil rehing, organic synthesis, etc. "The full story of the ammonia synthesis was only told several years ago, after the two leading actors in this drama had passed from the scene. I t is safe to assume that without this controversy over the value of the ammonia equilibrium, the ammonia synthesis might have been delayed for several years, if not a decade or more. "While the effect of this famous process on the start. and Progress of World w a r I is clearly known, the conswences of a delay or postponement of the process can only he the subject of speculation. Knowing as we do that Germany did not dare t o declare war until its nitrogen supply was secured in 1914. it is roba able that the course of history would have heen different without this assurance. "As if the gods would destroy a man who created so mighty a tool, the last years of Haber's life were extremely sad. Driven from workshop and country, after the advent of the Nazis in 1932, he died a homeless refugee, broken in body and spirit, in Switzerland in January. 1934." ~~
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The Dew Diamond Exhibit Issue is entirely devoted to a pictorial account of the many ways in which Dew products are involved in the daily life of the world. As usual, the spring, 1945, number of the Inter-
chemical Review (Interchemical Corporation, 432 West 45th St., New York City) is full of good material, including the development and use of microanalysis and a discussion of active chlorine compounds. A full-page list of these compounds is given, with their properties, from the well-known bleaching powder to dichloroacetylene. Corrosion is one of the commonest problems we face. Sometimes, however, what seems to be a case of chemical corrosion is actually due to mechanical effects. One of these, "cavitationkrosion," is briefly discussed by the Technical Editor in the current number (vol. .8, no. 2) of Mechanical Topics (International Nickel Company, 67 WallSt., New York 5, New York): "Cavitation-erosion. frequently referred to as 'cavitation,' always includes the physical wearing away of metal by erosion as a major factor in its action. This is similar to abrasion. I n corrosive environments, cavitation accelerates corrosion while corrosion intensifies cavitation. "More exactly, cavitation results from the formation of transient voids in a moving stream of liquid in the vicinity of a solid body. The inertia of the rapidly moving liquid makes it tend t o continue in a given direction rather than to follow the contour of the solid surface over which it flows. This creates voids. The voids are not a complete vacuum; they consist of space filled with the vapor of the liquid, a t the relatively low pressure corresponding t o its temperature, together with any dissolved gases that may he released into the lower-pressure space. "Eventually, these cavitation voids collapse. The collapse produces s pounding or hammering effect which results in deformation and fatigue of a metal ar an alloy, and also remove% films that otherwise might arrest corrosion. c , ~ corrosion h ~ ?f a freshly exposed surface during the f i ~ t ~ instant of exposure is believed to be very rapid for many metals. H O W ~ Vthis ~ ~initially , rapid attack usually deneases quicklr throueh the formation of corrosion-oroduct films that are orot,tiv;. BY continually removing buch films, cavitation &ar permit the initially high rates of attack to persist and thus muse considerable local damage by corrosion in the regions of severe cavitation. This mechanism accounts for the importance of corrosion in cavitation and for the desirability of corrosion-resistingmaterials. practical cavitation voids form and collapse very raoidlv: the net result is a deterioration of the surface of a metallic m&al all out of proportion t o what might he expected from simple Cavitation is favored a high velocity of liquid flow and, within some limits, the damage increases with rising temperature."
The frozen foods industry is discussed in the May
number of Ethyl News (Ethyl Corporation, 405 Lexington Ave., New York 17, New York), with a picture of more meat than we would have thought still existed, in these days of the shortage of everything. Another article describes the routine of the testing of gasoline. The Sguibb Memoranda (E. R. Sqnibb & Sons, 745 Fifth Ave., New York City), for March, has an interesting account of the properties and use of one of the new members of the "sulfa" family of drugs, sulfamerazine. It is said that sulfamerazine has characteristics not possessed by the better known sulfonamides, notably that following oral administration a high blood concentration is attained rapidly and that effective concentration in the blood is maintained over a long period of time. The April Bakelite R&ew (Bakelite Corporation, 30 East 42nd St., New York 17, New York) describes a new typeof gas mask for protection against war gases, made entirely of transparent vinylite plastic. "Designed by the Chemical Warfare Service t o meet the demands of the Medical Department for a mask that would fit over head bandages, the head-woxnd mask consists of a sack-like hood t o which an air-purifying canister and an outlet valve are attached. Air is drawn into the mask by normal breathing."
one-inch-thick steel, showing the behavior of a projectile or the gun, from the instant of firing until the target is hit. Mare than a dozen such machines are a t work in arsenals and ballistics laboratories here and abroad. "Oddly enough, the success of this new device is based on a weakness in the conventional X-ray machine. Occasionally, such machines 'backfire' and discharge many thousands times the amount of current normally required for relatively low-speed work. "Dr. Charles M. Slack, Assistant Director of Research a t the Westinghouse Lamp Division, studied this weakness and concluded it held the germ of ultra-high-speed radiography. Together with assistant Louis F. Ehrke, he developed a machine that discharges a million times the current of the conventional X-ray tube, and is hence many thousands times faster. "The two meu experimented with the machine in a variety of ways. They 6red high-speed 0.22 caliber rifle bullets into sandhags, t w k pictures of vacuum sweepers and electric shavers in meration. X-raved a mlf ball a t the instant it was driven from the tee. T o learn t h e internal damage caused by high-velocity projectiles striking parts of the human body, they even photographed a meaty soup-bone as i t was smashed by a bullet. "Postwar-wise, the millionth-of-a-second X-ray machine holds great promise as an industrial and medical tool. High-speed Xray movies of fast-moving machines are certainly feasible. With such a tool the internal-combustion engine, the steam turbine, and other devices will be forced to part with secrets of great value t o engineers. An English ornithologist wondered if the X-ray machine could be used to study the wing-structure of birds in flight. Maybe not, but it can perform many other and more .imnortant ~ -~ ~~~~-~ ~ = tazks." ---~
Another article in the same number tells how plastics are playing an increasingly important part in the fireworks industry, Still another, pigeons with wings," tells of the new plastic and lead bullets which are being used in aerial gunnery practice against actual planes specially covered for protection. Ultra-high-speed photography has held out many interesting possibilities, and some of the recent developments-with some excellent illustrations of projectiles in flight-made possible by the Microflash, a high-speed, high-intensity light s o u r c e a r e described in the April General Radio Exfierimenter (General Radio Company, 275 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge 39, Massachusetts). "The structure of hydrocarbon series" is one title in the April Natural GUS& (Warren Petroleum Corporation, Tulsa 2, Oklahoma). Aside from a few technical points in petroleum terminology, it of course contains nothing not found in any elementary organic text.
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Some time ago we mentioned the fact that it is now possible to produce pictures of complicated molecules directly from X-ray diffraction data by a combination of photographic processes. A further discussion of this point is found in the current (vol. 17, no. 1) Synthetic Orpanic Chemicals (Eastman Kodak Comoanv. ns: Rochester, New ~ o r k ) by ; Maurice L. ~ u ~ ~ i wgd had a large part in developing the methods. The clotting of blood is to a large extent a chemical process and involves the participation of a number of substances, among which is thrombin. The clinical usefulness of this material, which is available as a purified preparation, is discussed in Therapeutic Notes for May (Parke, Davis & Company, Detroit 32, Michigan).
"Bubble trouble" is the title of a short article on the foaming of lubricant and other oils, and its prevention, in the March-April number of The Orange Disc (Gulf Oil Cornoration. Gulf Building. -. Pittsburgh .. 30. PennAnother contribution to the discussion of our future sylvania). for years and years "Suddenly, engines were being called upon to haul heavy loads to come," is to be found in the May number of Our Sun of war material day and night, without rest and without replace(Sun Oil Company, ment. Tank and shio enenes had to be driven to their limits. . - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).
From the May Westinghouse Nevsfront (Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co., Pittsburgh, pennsylvania) we the following 'qnside "Tbe world's fastest X-ray machine, capable of taking a picture in a millionth of a second or less, is giving ballistics the 'inside2 story of what hsppens to a high.velocity as it speeds through a gun barrel or rips through thick armor plate. 50 times fasterthan the "DiShharging a stream of average lightning bolt, thenew machine can take pictures through
They must not stop &tiitheir jobs are done whether in two hours or twenty-four, and there must be no failure in the meantime. That's when this matter of foaming lubricants became of prime concern t o both the armed forces and industry. I n too many places where crankshafts and gears churned their oils hour after hour under heavy loads and a t high temperatures, foam, deadly foam, was frothing up, oozing out, carrying away the protecting film of oil on which machinery depends."
Several things are worth noting in the April number of S ~ W U(Cities ~ Service Company, Colorado Building,
Washington 5, D. C.): "Red demon rust," in which rust and corrosion get some attention; "Tomorrow's oil," the old problem again of our future supply of petroleum and its products; "Oil rides the iron horse," a pictorial account of the historical relation of oil to the railroads; "I'll take asphalt," with some information about a little-noticed product of petroleum; "Horseshoe nails in World War 11," of which the thesis is the following: "Uncounted thousands of tiny parts, wheels, cogs, wires, hall bearings, and drops of oil, doing their job in the incredibly mplex mechanisms that operate modern engines of destruction, are helping win the war for us. Sometimes the 'indispensable something' is not visible at all, but is some chemical ingredient or perhaps merely the glue that holds two parts together." "An interesting phenomenon is the change in the character of the bubbles emanating from a beverage due to changes which are not at all obvious and that can only be explained by theories developed through scientific investigation."
With this as a start, you will want to read the rest of "The chemist's page" in the May number of The Croum (Crown Cork & Seal Conipany, Box 1837, Baltimore 3, Maryland). And while you are about it, turn to the first article, " S o a p a development of the New World." You will be surprised a t the many ways in which soap serves us in our everyday lives. Those interested in patents and patent procedures (as every chemist should he) would do well to read "Secrets everyone knows," in the March-April Monsanto Magazine (Monsanto Chemical Company, St. Louis, Missouri), in which the associate director of the Monsanto patent department tells how hasty patent reform can throw away the keys to our technology. In the same
number, the American version of the robot bomb is described and illustrated. "War and a film of oil" discusses the development of "additives" for lubricating oil, substances introduced for the improvement of particular properties. Someone is said to have remarked: "It is getting so that lubricating oil is just an agent to hold the oil additives." "Bacterial resistance to penicillin" is one of the titles in the April What's Neu, (Abbott Laboratories, North Chicago, Illinois), another contribution to the already enormous literature on this new pharmaceutical.
Steelways, vol. 1 , no. 1, an illustrated quarterly in color, is available from the American Iron and Steel Institute, 350 Fifth Ave., New York 1, New York. While the entire striking magazine is to be commended, chemistry teachers will find the nine color pictures, "Slags seen through a microscope," especially interesting and useful. A bibliography of the iron and steel industry is included. The Institute maintains a very liberal policy in respect to making its materials available. An Outline of Aluminum now appears in enlarged and revised form. The pamphlet is made attractive by the use of gray and a lively shade of green, and by the inclusion of many more pictures than the former edition. Chemistry teachers will be glad to notice (p. 22) an improved diagram of the electrolytic cell. A catalog of films, educational booklets, and other visual aids are also availahle. Both are free. Write to Educational Department, Aluminum Company of America, Pittsburgh 19, Pennsylvania.
