CHEMISTRY AND YOU
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Chanter IV (The Periodic Svstem and the Structure of Atomst
B. Smith Hopkina, Professor of Chemistry Emeritus, University of Illinois; Herbert R. Smith, Head, Physieal Science Department, Lake View High School, Chicago; M. V. McGiIl, Head Howe Military School, Howe, Indiana; and G. M. Bmdbury, Instructor in Chemistry, Montdair High Schod, Montclair, New 772 pp. Jersey. Lyons and Camahan, Chicago, 1950. ix Illustrated. 15 X 23 Em.
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"CHEMISTRY AND You" is a p e ~ m n dstudy of the subject of chemistry. At the same time none of the chemical principles or necessary theories of this science has been sacrificed for the numerous practical applications of chemistry in our daily lives. The book opens with a sories of challenging pictures showing how chemistry affects daily living. I t is s. wonderful book to give boys and girls experience in good thinking. There are seventeen units nicely organized. The only change the reviewer would make in the organieatition would be to place the study of carbon last. The readings for pleasure and profit are well selected and the exercises offer ample material for review. "Chemistry and You" is accompanied by laboratory manual entitled "Chemistry and You in the Laboratory." It is compact and small in size (20.5 X 15.2 cm.) and contains 78 experiments. Tho laboratory manual is furnished with a teacher's key.
methods used in studying inorganic stmctures-X-ray analysis, conductivity measurements, dipole moment measurements, light absorption and emission, the Raman effect,and magnetic measurements. In Chanter VI, the author returns to a discussion of the chemical bond,-which is here taken up from a different point of visw than in Chapter 11. Volume 11, which has not yet appearod in the English translation, will discuss Volatility of Inorganic Substances, Crystal Chemistry, Silicates and Glasses, Metals and Alloys, and Inorganic Chemical Reactions. The usefulness of the first volume will be greatly increased when the second volume apwars, because Volume I contains many references to Volume 11, and the index to both appears in Volume 11. The translator has attempted to adhere closely to the style of the original author, with the result that the sentence structure is sometimes clumsy and difficult to read. The proof~adingwas not carefully done, and many minor mistakes appear. None of these, however, will cause serious trouble. On the whole, the book is excellent, and is a distinct contribution to the literature of inorganic chemistry. JONN C. BAILAR, JR
GRETA OPPE
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STRUCTURAL CHEMISTRY OF INORGANIC COMPOUNDS. VOLUME I
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THE FRICTION AND LUBRICATION OF SOLIDS
F. P. Bowden and D. Tobor, Department ofPhyaical Chemistry,
Cambridge Universih, England. Oxford Un~versityPress. LonWalter H k k e l , Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Tiibin- don. 1950. rii T 337 pp. I14 figs 45 tables. 16 X 24.5 cm. gen University. Translated by L. H. Long, Lecturer in the De- $7. nartment of Chemistrv. Universitv Colleoe. Exeter. Elsevier THIS book is in the International Series of Monographs on k'ublishiug Co., New .kork, 1950: xii / '437 pp. 50 figs. Physics. "It describes an experimental study of the physical 17.5 X 26.5 cm. $9. and, to a less extent, of the ehemied processes that occur during THE author of this book has attempted "to furnish inorganic the sliding of solids, pertieularly metals, and an investigation into chemistry with that which organic chemistry has long possessed the mechanism of friction and boundary lubrication. I t is not a d eansti- general textbook, since it deals almost entirely with experimental as a basis for its systematization, namely, a s t ~ c t u r and tutional theory in one embracing representation." This is a researches carried out by the writers and their eollahorators and difficult task, for the structure of inorganic atoms is much more colleagues." complex than that of the atoms commonly found in organic With the limitations admitted in the preface, the book is an chemicals, and the nature of chemical binding in inorganic excellent presentation of this specific subject. moleculee and crystals is many times more varied than that exKENNETH A. KOBE hibited by the compounds of carbon. Perhaps Dr. Hiickel has Uxrvsnern orl T m i s not completely achieved this ambitious god, but he has written Armrn. T e x * ~ an excellent book on inorganic chemistry. Chapter I consists of an outline of the development of our ideas of the nature of matter and of valence. This is philosophiINTRODUCTORY NUCLEAR PHYSICS cal in nature and is well done, but it has little connection with the 0 remainder of the book. In Chspter I1 the basis of systematiza- Dovid Hallidoy, University of Pittsburgh. John Wilay and tion is laid down. I t is pointed out that inorganic compounds Sons, New York, 1950. ix 558 pp. 279 figs. 69 tables. may be classified as volatile and nonvolatile, and the latter are 14.5 X 22 cm. $6.50. further divided into those which are soluble and those which are THEpreparation of an up-to-date book on d l phases of nuclear insoluble. Since these physical properti&=are not dependent upon the nature of the atoms in the material hut upon the nature physics is an ambitious undertaking. The author of this volume of the binding forces between them, the ultimate systemiestian has been markedly successful in covering the wide range of aubis based on the homopolar hand, the heternpolar band, and the ject mstter and still maintaining it in eompaet resdLble form. nnst,ulatea of the coordination thearv. The discussion of the To accomplish this he has eliminated a. p a t deal of older work -~~~ I:~rt,;r((.'l>nptrr111, 142 pngea) ir spkn~lid,and ilwlud~% ~ * v r r . ~ which I has been superseded and has reduced mathematical dalopir.8 which are not sdequntely disruswl i r ~mort bcruks o f . in- velopment to a minimum. organic chemistry--dinuelear and polynuclertr oompounds, the A thorough understanding of modern nuclear theory demands polyacids, isopoly bases, and the structure of the metaphosphates some knowledge of quantum mechanics, and while certain of the concepts and equations are used in this book a great deal of infor&id soluble silicates
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mation and insight into nuclear processes can he ohlained by those who do not have this preparation. The hook is intended as a general nuclear physics textbook on s starting graduate level. The emphasis thrnughout is on experimental results, while theory is interwoven to correlate the observations and does not in general attempt t o go beyond them. The hook is organbed into 13 chapters each of which contains material printed in m a l l type which can he ignored without interrupting the continuity of the subject. Each chapter is followed by a list of problems as an aid to those who wish to use the book fo; instruction. The important underlying feature of this book is its obvious direct oantsct with current orininsl literature. The reader will find discussions of the new developments of nuclear physics, of which there are many, in additton to the nuclear chain reaction. As examples, summaries are provided of the complex relationships of the different mesons and the current status of cosmic ray research, and new experimental methods such as neutron diffraction and microwave spectroscopy are described. In addition, most of the new instruments and machines of nuclear physics are diagramed and explained. For those who wish to go beyond the material given in the hook a generous number of recent literature references are given, particularly to work which has not yet found its way into hooks. A spot check through the hook yielded a. sprinkling of minor errors, most of them probably typographical, hut the incidencz seems to be smaller than that of most comparable hooks in first edition. Any particular research worker in nuclear physics might find that he would describe his field in more detail or with change in nuance, hut in thia reviewer's opinion the author has maintained a good perspective. The volume can he recommended both to students of the nuclear sciences and those with a more casual interest in the field as a faithful and lucid description of experimental nuclear physics today. I. PERLMAN CAGIFOBNIA BIIRHE'EY.CALIFORNIA
UNrVEnslTY OF
AN EIGHTEENTH CENTURY LECTURESHIP IN CHEMISTRY
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Edited by Andrew Kent. Jackson, Son and Co., Glasgow, 1950. 233 pp. 18 plates. 14 X 22 cm. 21/-.
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IN1947 the University of Glesgow celebrated the two-hundredth anniversary of the founding of its first lectureship in chemistry. The firat incumbent was William Cullen, his successor was Joseph Black, and the chair, which became a Regius Professorship with Thomas Thomson in 1818, has continued until the pmcnt day. .\a part 01 rhc cclrtmtiun, four adrlrrssrs a r w prr.icrltrd, dealing with Cullcn. Black, rhc industrial drvrlolrn~rutu f Scotland durinc the Cullrrr-Black ncriod. and Cllrwon. chrmstrv in the twentieih century. subs&uentiy these addresses we& supplemented by a numher of additional essays to make up the present hook. Although in a sense the book is the history of a single university, it is actully far more. I t is as much the story of chemistry in the University of Edinburgh as of Glasgow, far the faculty of Edinburgh was drawn dmost entirely from Glasgow in the eighteenth century. Between the two universities, most of the chemical developments of Scotland were covered. At this period Scotland was one of the leading centers of chemicd eduoiltion of the world. Particularly did students from colonial America come to study with Cullen and Black. The pioneering work of Rush in Philadelphia and M d e m at Princeton reflects the training they received in Scotland. Wrtt invented his steam engine at Glasgow, and many of the founders of English ohemical indue tries were educated there. All of these aspects of Scottish chemistry are treated in the brief hut authoritativeessays presented in this volume. Biographical sketches of the leading chemists of the period, Irvine, Robisan, Hope, Cleghorn, and Thomson, supplement the fuller treatment
of Cullen and Black. The physical setting, Glasgow and its University, are described, and the chemical background, stemming largely from Boerhaave and reflecting the main trends of a period when the doctrine of phlogiston was giving way to the ohemistry of Lavoisier, is well discussed. The essay on "Phlogie ton, Caloric, and Heat" is particularly illuminating in revealing the type of thinking which prevailed among chemists of that time. The industrial development of Scotland is described, and the story of Glasgow chemistry is carried dawn to modern timesin the final essay. There is a short article by T. S. Patterson which makes some very pungent comments on modern methods of teaehing chemistry, in contrast to the inductive method used by Black. It can thus be seen that the hook contains mrtterial which should appeal to almost every taste: In spite of the number of topics discussed, however, there is a unity of treatment which makes it a pleasure to read the hook through. It recreates the ininrmal s ~ i r iof t the time. when students might throw a handful
reading this volume. HENRY M. LEICESTER
C O L ~ OorEPATBICIANB AND SDAGEONB SAWFRANOBOO. CALIFORNIA
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ELEMENTS OF FRACTIONAL DISTILLATION
C. S. Robinson and E. R. Gilliland, Professors of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Revised and rewritten by E. R. Gilliland. Fourth edition. MoGrawHiU Book Ca., New York, 1950. ix f 492 pp. Nustrated. 16 X 23.5 cm. $7.
THE fourth edition of "Elements of Fractional Distillation" has been entirely rewritten by Profeasar Gilliland, who has graduated the volume from the publishers International Chemical Series to the Chemical Engineering Series. Most of the chapters are new and those in the third edition (1939) dealing with special technologies have been discarded in favor of fundamental methods of design. The first section of four chapters (100 pages) is entirely new. It deals with the determination of vspor-liquid equilibria, presentation of these data, and the calculation of equilibria. For the latter edeulations, the use of the Duhem-Msrgules and Van Laar equations is illustrated. The following four chapters (113 pages) present simple distillation and reetifimtion of binary solutions. The main emphasis is placed on the Sore1 cslculation a d McCahe-Thiele graphical methods. The Ponchon enthalpyconcentration graphical method is treated rather briefly because of its limitation to binary solutions, although the general utility of this method in many chemical engineering c&ulations should warrant a more detailed treatment. A third section (156 pages) applies the previous methods to multicomponent solutions, using Sorel's method, and then shows the applicability of several alternate design methods. Extractive and azeotropio distillation methods are discussed and illustrated, as are hatch and vacuum distillations. Esterification reactions are used to illustrate a brief chapter on simultaneous rectification and chemical reaction. A fourth section (109 pages) treats the problems of mechanical design of the fractionating column and auxiliary equipment. Finally, the performance of the column under operating conditions and plate efficienciesis discussed. Although this hook is the only modern text in Engliah devoted to distillation, its title of "Elements" indicates that certain benefits and limitations are to be expected. Because all discussion begins with the fundamentals anyone with a good training in physical chemistry can master the book. For the chemical cngineer with a hschelor's degree there will he a review of principles previously learned &fore progressing to new material. But thia also is one of the limitations. The hook does not discuss many of the newer and specialized methods that have appeared in the literature in the last few years, particularly for complex petroleum
