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hydrogen atom is omitted from the structural formula for pentose on page 65. The printing and make-up of the book are excellent. The author is to be commended for the clarity and conciseness of his final chapter on the micellar structure of cellulose. This difficult subject is excellently presented in the light of modern colloidal theory. Here is a book which should be in the library of all those interested in this important industrial raw material. RALPHE. MOKTONNA.
Abridged Scientzfic Publications from the Kodak Research Laboratories, Volume XXIII. 64 x 9! in.; 290 pp. Rochester, Yew York: Eastman Kodak Company, 1942. Abridged accounts of thirty-five publications (Nos. 754 to 820 not continuous) are presented in this volume, which includes many papers of unusual scientific interest. S. C. LIND.
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276 pp.; Mass-Spectra and Isotopes. By F. W. ASTON. Second edition. 54 x 9 in.; xii 12 plates; 20 tables; 48 figures. London: Longmans, Green and Company, 1942. Price: $7.00. The first edition under this title appeared in 1933, replacing the two earlier editions of Isotopes. The present is not greatly changed from the first edition. A few sections have been added, three in the chapter on “Measurements of Abundance,” including descriptions of the Smythe and Mattauch and of the Nier mass spectrometers and a section on chemical analysis by the mass spectrometer. Part 111, on “The Elements and their Isotopes,” has been extended to embrace all the elements in their natural order. It presents the whole of the evidence on which the first International Table of Stable Isotopes was drawn up in 1936 and the later work. Rarely does one have the opportunity of having a complete survey of a field so fundamental to both chemistry and physics by the investigator most responsible for its initiation and completion. The work remains classic and indispensable. Unfortunately, the influence of the War is reflected in the quality of paper and the price of the present edition. S. C. LIND.
Elementary Physical Chemistry. BYMERLE RANDALL AND LEONA ESTHERYOUNG. 6 x 9 in.; xiv 455 pp,; 279 illustrations. Berkeley, California: Randall and Sons, 1942. Price $4.50. This survey of classical physical chemistry is intended primarily as a text for secondor third-year college students, especially in preparation for the study of thermodynamics. It is also recommended to graduate students who wish to review the field of physical chemist r y and a8 a reference text. The book is a photolithic reproduction from the Stanford University Press. It is replete with tables and figures well reproduced. It treats the usual topics covered in elementary texts in a very refreshing and vivid manner, and with the inclusion of an unusually large amount of thermodynamics. S. C. LIND.
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Manual of Explosives, Milztary Pyrotechnics and Chemical Warfare Agents. By JULES BEBIE. 6 x 9 in.; xiii 171 pp. New York: The MacMillan Company, 1943. Price $2.50. This handy little volume will fill a long-felt need for all those people who deal with explosives or with the literature of explosives. The use of trade names and unscientific nomenclature in explosives literature and advertising, and the fact that most commercial and military explosives as used are mixtures of several different chemical species have resulted in a good deal of confusion which this book will do much to clarify. It will also serve as a handy manual for quickly finding the principal properties of given explosives. The work is fairly complete and up-to-date with the exception of a very few of the newer explosive mixtures used in World War I1 which have not yet appeared in the literature. It
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appears to be carefully and accurately compiled. Dr. Bebie is to be congratulated on both the excellence and the timeliness of his little volume. The mechanics of the hook, i t s format and printing, are of high quality. RALPHE. MONTONNA. General XetaEZography. By RALPHL. DOWDELL, HENRY9. JERABEK,ARTHUR C. FORSYTH, A N D CARRIE H. GREEN. First edition. 6 s 9f in.; x 292 pp.; 123 figures; 34 tables. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1943. Price: $3.35. As stated by the authors in the Introduction, this book is intended for beginning students in metallography. I t is, therefore, an addition to the group of excellent textbooks on this subject which have appeared during the past few years. I t will meet stiff competition in this field, but the newcomer can hold its head high in the distinguished company in which it finds itself. The book is the outgrowth of many yeers of classroom workin metallography a t the University of Minnesota. Of the ten chapters, the first one may be passed over quickly, as it is essentially a tabular resume of data on the physical constants of metals. The subjects of crystal structure, alloy systems, and constitutional diagrams constitute the subject matter of the next three chapters, the presentation of which, though following t,he conventional method, has a freshness and spontaneity which is so often lacking. To some general readers, the introduction of Chapter V on pyrometry may seem to break the continuity. However, this should serve a useful purpose at this point in laboratory work which accompanies the text. Chapter VI on “Ifechanical Properties” is a n escellent brief rksumi: of the fundamental properties which underlie the useful application of metals. Chapter VI, “Metallographic Control,” was somewhat disappointing to the reviewer. Too much is attempted in the span of forty-five pages,- macroscopic examination, preparation of metallographic specimens, and their etching, and the optical principles of the metallographic microscope. A short chapter devoted to macroscopic examination in more detail than is possible in the space of five pages devoted to it would have pleased the reviewer and possibly ceitain classes of students. Those interested in the engineering aspects mould have found i t distinctly to their advantage. In the remaining four chapters, the subjects of deformation of metals, iron and steel, non-ferrous alloys, and corrosion are discussed. Of necessity the presentation in many cases is brief. The inclusion of tabular reference data from other sources, such as the table on etching solutions, the classificat,ion and properties of alloy steels, etc., is very commendable and certainly will be appreciated by students as well as general readers of the book. Any reviewer could doubtless mention a number of topics whose omission he deplores. However, to keep within the confines laid down by the authors in this textbook for beginners, such omissions are necessary. A choice must be made and the reviewer considers that the authors have done a good job in their selection of essentials which will constitute a firm foundation in the subject. I t is a pleasure to commend the publishers on the excellence of the mechanical preparation of the book. By a wise choice of high-grade semi-gloss paper, i t has been possible t o reproduce the micrographs with no loss, whatsoever, in detail of the structural features they are intended to convey. H. S. RAWDON.
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The dlalhematics of Physics and Chemistry. By HENRYMORGENAU AND GEORGE MOSELEY MuRPHY. 6 x 9 t in.; xii 580 pp.; 49 figures; 31 tables. iiew York: D.Van Nostrand Company, Inc., 1943. Price: $6.60. Let me quote from the preface: “The authors’ aim has been to present, between the covers of a single book, those parts of mathematics which form the tools of the modern worker in theoretical physics and chemistry. They have endeavored to do this by steering a middle course between the mere recording of facts and formulas which is characteristic of handbook treatments, and the ponderous development which characterizes treatises in
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