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NEW BOOKS
and the analogous quinoline and isoquinoline types so important in alkaloid studies. Also, in the section on condensations, Hauser’s mechanism for the Claisen condensation should have been included. By no means is this text a substitute for t h e excellent texts recently published by Professors Pauling and Hammett. I t should serve rather as a companion text to these, and ultimately all three books should become the personal property of those who are deeply interested in the question, “Why do organic molecules react as they actually do?” RICHARD T. ARNOLD. Kurzes Lehrbuch der physikalischen Chemic. Second edition. By DR. HERMANK ULICH,Professor of Physical Chemistry at the Technische Hochschule a t Aachen. 9 x 6 in.; xvi 324 pp.; 79 fig. Dresden and Leipzig: Theodor Steinkopff, 1940. Price: 9 M. This excellent book is divided into four sections called “chapters.” Chapter I deals with the properties of gases, solids, ordinary solutions, and colloidal solutions. Chapter I1 is devoted to the application of thermodynamics t o states of equilibrium and includes a treatment of ionic equilibrium, of electromotive force, of electrolysis, and of photochemistry. In chapter I11 attention is directed to reaction velocity, to electrical conductance, and to such topics as concentration polarization, overvoltage, and passivity. Chapter I V is especially interesting to the reader, dealing as i t does with chemical forces and the constitution of matter. Subtitles are as follows: nucleus of the atom, electron shells, the polar bond, the non-polar bond, and intra- and intermolecular forces. Some adverse criticisms follow: On page 26, the erroneous statement is made that experiment confirms the prediction that the viscosity of a gas should be proportional to T1’P. On page 29, i t is stated that all crystals are anisotropic. On pages 49 and 50, the erroneous view is expressed that the sign of the Joule-Thomson effect depends
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on the sign of the coefficient
r 3 T .
Chapter IV is, as I have stated, devoted to a presentation of the intimate properties of atoms and molecules. Now, many of the important results achieved in this field are due to the application of quantum mechanics to chemical problems. T o a reader who has some knowledge of quantum mechanics, the treatment in chapter I V will be interesting, stimulating, and intelligible. What benefits will a student derive who has no knowledge of quantum mechanics? I n my opinion, the only benefits (and they are not necessarily small) t h a t such a student can obtain will be, first, an appreciation of the importance of quantum mechanics in the study of chemical problems, and, second, a strong desire t o learn something about quantum mechanics.
F. H. MACDOIJGALL. W. CHITTUM,AND OTHERS. 4 x 6 in.; The Chemist at Work. By ROYI. GRADY,JOHN xv 422 pp.; 9 tables. Easton, Pennsylvania; Journal of Chemical Education, 1940. Price: $3.00. This volume is a collection of papers by various authors, giving descriptions of the work of the chemist employed in very different fields of activity. It is intended aa an aid to the young student seeking vocational guidance. About fifty papers are included. Evidently, the average length is not sufficient for a full treatment in every case, but many of the papers give a picture of surprising adequacy f o r the purpose intended. S. C. LIND.
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