reviews Materials In Today's World Peter A. Thrower. McGraw-Hill: New York, NY, 1992.247 pp, 18.5 x 23.3 cm. $27.84 PB. Many college chemistryteachers today are looking for new ways to reach the current generation of students. Although this is eertainly true in the science and chemistry majors course, it also is true in non-science major courses. For example, the ACS has published Chemistry in Context, a text which teaches chemistry by choosing examples primarily from a n energy and environmental viewpoint. Many other non-major textbooks are written from a similar perspective or are oriented toward consumer chemistry A much different approach has been taken hy Peter Thmwer, a faculty member in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering a t Penn State. His text is aimed a t giving the non-science major some understanding of recent and future developments in the field of materials science. Several chapterr ofthe book arc devoted to t h bas~cs, ~ ~ncludmg a brref background in the ficld of matenals menre, bandmg and the stmrturcofsnhds These are followed by more advancrd tapws that may be less familiar to many chemistry teachers, including defects in solids, the strength of materials and the hehaviar of electrons i n materials (conductivity and interactions with light). Interspersed with the latter chapters are case studies of high tech materials that provide illustrations of the principles learned in earlier chapters. For example, there are sections on lithium aluminum alloys in aerospace applications, ceramic cookware (Corning Ware), solar cells, optical fibers, and carbon fibers and composites. There are perhaps two primary groups of faculty who may benefit from this hook. The first erouo consists of those who would like tn use the honk as Thrower does-to teach a erouo of nan-science ~~~-~~~~ ~~~majors somethinfi about developmcnts in thr firld of materials. For instrurtors with an interest in and understandmg of m a t m als, this text will provide a fairly easy-to-read sourcebook for the students. However, there are some difficulties in using i t as a stand-alone textbook For example, the book does not contain any end-of-chapter or in-chapter exercises. It also lacks the supplementary materials that many instructors enjoy, such a s transparencies, relevant laboratory experiments or demonstrations, and a n exam test hank. The illustrations are mostly gray scale drawings that in same cases are difficult to understand (particularly to the student the unit cell drawinesl and mav not be as anoealine , as rhc mulrieolored~r~xn.s tha;are common todai'The text does havea nmglosssry that will helpstudents to keep thcdrfinitions of the key terms clear. The second group of potential users are instruetars that might like to inject new examples from the world of materials into their courses, either for the major or the non-major. The use of the case studies should make this fairly easy. Also, the choice of case studies is such that there is a nice mix of high tech applications as well as explanat~onsfor matenala that are encountered every day in the homc Chcrnlrtry mstructnrs who have been tramed to deal pnmanly wlth bmdl molecules wdl find that there arc many phc-
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nomena that can be explained by learning about structure and defects in the solid state. The text is written to the student. Attempts have been made to describe complicated concepts through simplification and analogies. For example, the movement of a caterpillar is used effectively to illustrate the movement of dislocations in a crystal. Mathematics are reduced to a hare minimum. However, sometimes the simplification may dismay the instructor. For example, a picture of the water molecule shows eight electrons in a circular orhit around the oxygen atom. In a number of places, readers are told not to worry ifthey don't get a particular concept. However, as the author states in the oreface. while the view is orobablv best from the top ofihe mountam. It 13 better to cllrnb partway up and see somethmg, rather than stay in the valley tnfimnranre, In summary.Mntennls tn Todo) $: U'orld promdrs a unlquc nlternative for those who are interested in teaching a materials-oriented course for non-science majors or providing new examples i n the general chemistry course. Brian J. J o h n s o n The College of St. Benedict and St. Johns University St. Joseph, M N 56374 Microscale Organic Laboratory, Third Edition Dana W. May. RonaldM. Pike, and Peter K Trumper. Wiley: New York, NY. 1994. xxxv + 764 pp. Figs. and tables. 22.2 x 28.7 cm. $52.95 The Third Edition of Mieroseale Organic Labomtory (MOL-3) reoresents a maior rewritine and reorganization of this wellknown laboratory texthook. Compared with the Second Edition, MOL.3 1s ahout 45% longer, organlred dlffrrently, and further polished. The result is a n impressive rompilatwn of information. techniques, principles, and procedures. The inrreasrd length of this edition results from several major additions: New chemistry has brcn added, mostly in the chapter titled "Seauential Svntheses: The Transttion from Macm ta MIcro". This interesting chapter gives five multistep syntheses (three to six stem) that generate interestine oroducts. These exoerimentr mve students 3 taste of real-life orgamc synthesis, which oflen brgins in burkets and progresses w micruhvam rearttons. l'heae sequences include semi-microscale preps usmg ronventional distillation, separatory funnels, ete. Most of the introductory discussions have been expanded to cover all of the chemistly (including the mechanistic principles) needed to understand the exoeriments. This coveraee minimizes the dependence on lecture material, because laboratories are rarelv correlated closelv with the lecture. Spectroscopy is expanded and cnmhlned tn provide a complete, free-xandrng spectroscopy chapter The coverah* of IR has retained its depth nnd brrndth N M H has been expanded with mat e n d on spectral intprpretatmn, Fourier trnnsform techniques, carbun NMR, and two-dlmenswnal NMR. The LV-wslhle sectmn has cupnndrd to inrlndr thr Woodward-Firscr rules, and all the
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Reviewed in this Issue
Reviewer Peter A. Thrower, Materials in Today's World Dana W. May, Ronald M. Pike, and Peter K. Trumper, Microscale Organic Laboratory, Third Edition lvano Bertini, Harry B. Gray. Stephen J. Lippard, and Joan Selverstone Valentine, Bioinorganic Chemistry J. Derek Wmllins, Editor, Inorganic Experiments Titles of Interest
A124
Journal of Chemical Education
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Brian J. Johnson Leroy G. Wade, Jr. Kenneth Kustin George B. Kauffman
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