NOVEMBER, 1951
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this is not explicitly stated is disappointing in reviews of this expected quality. The index to the volume seems satisfactory in its reference to types of compounds and in view of the detailed nature of the tables of contents of the revimvs and arrangement of the tabular material. Within the above limits the publication is a good, if in places indefinite, reference work. A good deal of the indefiniteness is the refiponsibility oi the editor. The publication is well prepared physirally and typographical errors are few.
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INDUSTRIAL AND SAFETY PROBLEMS OF NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY
Edited by Morris H. Shamos, Assistant Professor of Physics, and Sidney G. Roth, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, New York 368 University. Harper and Brothers, New York, 1950. xiii pp. SO figs. 12 tables. 14 X 21.5 cm. $4.
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THEbook cansisbs of a, collection of papers presentedat a Conference on Industrial and Safety Problems of Nuclear Technology held a t New York University in January, 1950. As stated in the preface, "It is hoped that this volume will help to fill an urgent need by presenting in a single source certain fundamental information which is felt to he of particular importance to industry." The boak is divided into four main seotions. In Part I the oreenization., ooeration. ~ l a n ,s and . Droerams of the U. S. Atomic ~ & g y Commission are discussed. kxplanations of the contract and patent policies of the Commission are presented in some detail. Part I1 deals with the properties and uses of radioactive materials. Both the present and the potential uses of radioisotopesi n all fields of research and induetry are described and illustrated. Readers who are not familiar with the wide variety of uses of radioisotopes may find in these papers the mention of a use which would be helpful in their awn research. The problems of designing laboratories for handling radioactive materials and the techniques appropriate for conducting experiments in such laboratories are considered in Part 111. Specific recommendations for laboratory design and useful data for shielding calculations, etc., are given. Part IV deals with the hazards, safety problems, and the insurance aspects of nuclear technology. In the authoritative discussion of health protection and hazards may be found advice which should be of value particularly for users of radioisotopes who do not have direct assistance from a "Health Physics" staff within their organization. The reasons behind the recommended safety procedures are properly emphasized. Two panel discussions which were transcribed from the Conference are included in the appendix. Users and potential users of radioisotopes will find the answers to many of their questions in this boak.
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tific work, rather then to show in any particular instance how the scientist works. I t would appear that Professor h m n has written for an audience somewhat more mature intellectuillly thsn the Bmerican radio audience when he tells his listeners that the proposition " t h t every non-centro-symmetric crystal is pieaoelectric or pyro-electric is not necessarily true,'' or refers t o "Doppler displacements," or t o representing s. variable "in a diagram on a logarithmic scale." The author is Professor of Physics a t the University of Caloutts, discoverer of the Raman effect-for which he received the Nobel Prize in 1 9 3 f o u n d e r of t,he Indian Academy of Sciences, and cofounder of the Indian Journal of physics. The nature of the topics discussed is a testimony to the variety of his intercats. Among the subjects of the lectures are shellfish, geometry in nature, the sail, water, weather, lightning, crystal structure, cosmic rays, and a review of G. W. Morey's book, "The Properties of Glass." The style is lucid, nanmathematicsl, and about w h t one might emect a physicist to say in an after-dinner conversation with s. group of, yerhaps, lawyers, merchants, and government officals. I t is adm~ttedlya difficult task for the expert to explain his specialty to the l x y m n and t o convey an idea. of why the expert is so enthusiafitic about his work. Professor Raman has accomplished t h i ~aim. The price, however, sepms high for R. 144-page- nontechnical hook. WhLTER R. KEIGHTON
S ~ * ~ T H M COO~LEL E ~ E S ~ A R T ~ M POe l~r W E s,r L v A ~ r *
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TREATISE ON POWDER METALLURGY. VOLUME 11: APPLIED AND PHYSICAL POWDER METAL. LURGY
Claus G. Goefiel, Vice-president and Director of Research, Sintercast Corporation of America, New York. Interscience Publishers, Inc.. New York, 1950. xviii 910 pp. 628 figs. 285 tables. 15.5 X 23.5 cm. $18.
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ACCORDING to the subtitles, Volume I [reviewed J. C ~ E M . EDCC., 26,623 (1949)l of this encyclopedic treatment of the field of powder metallurgy dealt with the "technology of metal powders and their products." ' Little information was given an the physical and mechanical properties of sintered materials. Part 1of the present second volume of the treatise discusses the field of applied powder metallurgy and the properties of industrial materials and products; and Part 2 is concerned with physical powder metallurgy and a practical evaluation and a theoretical analysis of the materials, products, and processes. The third, and final, volume will oover the technical and patent literature of the field of powder metallurgy in the form of a classified and annotated bibliography. It is an awe-inspiring task that the author has set for h i m d f and the warm reception accorded the first volume must have been very gratifying to him and to the publishers. Volume I1 comes up to the high expectations engendered by a study of Volume I. Besides the practical aspects of powder metallurgy, Volume I1 presents in Chapter 35 a. 62-page summary of the various ideas of atomic behavior that have been advanced t o acoount for the phenomenon of sintering. This section will be of particular interest to physical ohemists who are concerned with interatomic
THE NEW PHYSICS: TALKS ON ASPECTS OF SCIENCE
Sir C. V. Ramon. Philosophical Library, New York, 1951. 144 pp. 14 X 21 cm. $3.75.
T m s set of 19 lectures is written for the layman rather thsn for the scientist. The lectures were originally used as radio talks in India and it is evident that radio science programs in India h v e this in common with those in America, that they tend to be informative rather than instructive, t o exhibit the ramifications of science, and to convince the layman of the importance of scLn-
Dr. Goetzel hss been content to present a composite summary of several separate attempts to explain siutering, though he states his preference far the more conservative concepts. He 6nds (on page 835) that ' h e of the chief causes for the slow develapment of a. science of powder metallurgy lies in the fact that the experimental evidence is in many respects extremely soaroe; in other instances, where abundant, the results constitute data of interest only for specific applications and often are insufficiently organieed for scientific research and theoretical conclusions. . . m y
