1033
S L W BOOKS
Liquids and Mechanism of Fusion; Heat Motion in Liquids and their Mechanical Properties; Orientation and Rotational Motion of Molecules in Liquid Bodies; Surface and Allied Phenomena; Kinetics of Phase Transitions; Properties of Solutions; and High Polymeric Substances, F. H. MACDOUGALL.
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Inorganic Syntheses. Vol. 11. Edited by W. C. FERSELIUS. xii 293 pp. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1946. Price: $4.00. The second volume of Inorganic Syntheses follows the general pattern established by the first, but several marked improvements have been introduced. Methods of synthesizing eighty-one varied compounds are presented, the list including some relatively simple substances, such as barium bromate and nitric oxide, as well as such complex materials as triammonium imidodisulfate and ,dichloro-bis-ethylenediamine-cobaltic chloride. Relatively large amounts of space are devoted to the separation and purification of rare earth materials (33 pages) and to derivatives of the less common acids of sulfur (24 pages). The directions for all of the preparations have been made as specific as possible, and each synthesis has been checked by at least one independent investigator to insure the workability of the procedures and the elimination of directions which might be misinterpreted. In addition to the experimental part, the volume contains articles on the properties of several of the important types of inorganic compounds for which methods of preparation are given. Tbese include the metal derivatives of the 1,3-diketones, compounds of the rare earths, and the metal carbonyls. The nomenclature and indexing used in Volume I have been greatly improved in Volume 11, and the book contains a short but excellent article (by Miss Janet D. Scott) on the nomenclature of inorganic compounds. The index is cumulative for both volumes. The series of volumes on inorganic syntheses is designed to help laboratory workers in the preparation of all sorts of inorganic chemicals, and to outline techniques which may be adapted to inorganic preparations. The need for such help was evidenced by the warm reception accorded to Volume I. The current volume, with its numerous improvements, should be even more valuable. JOHNC. BAILAR, JR. Physical Chemistry jofor Colleges. By E. B. MILLARD.6th edition. 682 bp. New York and London: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1946. Price: $4.50. Professor Millard has again undertaken the difficult task of presenting elementary physical chemistry to beginning students. I n this, the sixth edition of his widely used text, the greater part of the subject matter has been rewritten, but the selection and order of the topics are essentially the same as in the preceding edition. The introductory chapter of the previous edition has now been expanded into two chapters: Introduction-Determination of Atomic Weights; and Elementary Thermodynamics, Then follow chapters on: Properties of Substances in the Gaseous State; Properties of Substances in the Liquid State; Crystalline Solids; Solutions; Solutions of Ionized Solutes; Thermochemistry; Equilibrium in Homogeneous Solutions; Heterogeneous Equilibrium; Phase Diagrams (formerly included in the previous chapter); Kinetics of Homogeneouo Reactions; Radiation and Chemical Change; Periodic Law of the Elements; Radioactive Changes; Atomic Structure; ColloidsSurface Chemistry; Free Energy of Chemical Changes; and Potentials of Electrolytic Cells. The number of pages has been increased from 600 in the fifth edition to 682 in the present edition; the number of problems has been increased from 327 to 355. Tbe treatment of topics is, on the whole, quite good. Many of the more difficult concepts are excellently illustrated by the large number of numerical problems worked out in detail in the text. The large number of tabulated data serve not only as a basis for some of the problems for the student, but help him t o understand the experimental basis for the laws of
