molecules. I n all cases the treatment of the material is fresh and stimulating. This hook should he a pleasure to those who are interested in this advancing front of polymer science.
Methods of Thermodynamics
Howard Reiss, North American Aviation Science Center, Thousand Oaks, California. Blaisdell Publishing Co. (' TEOMAB E. F E R I N Q ~ N division of Ginn and Co.), New York, 1965. xvii 217 pp. Figs. and W. R. Grace and Co. tables. 15.5 X 23.5 cm. $8.50. Clorksville, Md.
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Statislicol Theory of Liquids
I. Z. Firher, Moscow. Translated by Theodore W. Switz, with a supplement by Stuart A. Rice and Peter Gray. University of Chicago Press, 1964. xii 335 pp. Figs. and tables. 14.5 X 22 em. $12.50.
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This book is of interest primarily to graduate students and investigators in the field of fluids. Research in liquid structure theory has increased steadily since the pioneering work of Dehye and Menke, J. E. Mayer, and J. Frenkel about 35 years ago. About a dozen theories have been proposed to explain this state of matter. Only s. limited number of books on this subject have been published and Professor Fisher's hook is one of three or four printed in the 1960's (his original Russian edition was published in 1961). Professor Fisher surveys much of the current knowledge of liquid structure emphasizing the contributions of Russian scientists following the early developments of B o g o l ~ ~ h o vI. n this spproaeh the statistical theory of liquids is b a e d on the correlation functions of groups of malecoles. With the existing publications using the comparable molecular distribution function methods in the non-Russian English language. Since the time of Professor Fisher's writing considerable emphasis has been given to the cluster concept of J. E. Mayer. As an introduction to the newer approach an extensive Supplement, written by Stuart A. Rice and Peter Gray, has been added to Professor Fisher's book. I t is not easy to blend two diverse writings, but the results are acceptable and the publication timely. A discussion of clustering theory for simple liquids may also be found in H. L. Friedman's book, "Ionic Solution Theory" (Interscience, New York, 1962). Following the publication of the Supplement, Rice and Gray have written a more extensive work on "The Statistical Mechanics of Simple Liquids" (Interscience, New York, 1965). The two hooks cover the major developments in liquid structure theory. Professor Fisher's book is especially vsluahle as a somce of Russian developments and as a, bridge between the earlier investigations and the present statistical mechanical concepts. DALEDREISBACH Hiram College Hiram, Ohio
A912
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Journal of Chemical Education
This book contains an exposition of the general principles of chemical thermodynamics with a limited number of illustrative applications. It purports to do for the chemist what Pippard ("Elements of Classical Thermodynamics," Cambridge University Press, 1960) does for the physicist. Both strive for maximizrttion of the reader's intuitive appreciation of the foundations of thermodynamics by following a path intermediate between the postulationttl and empirical approaches. The former is represented, for example, by Callen's "Thermodynamics" (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1960), in which the subject is compressed into a formalized msthemstical structure, logically consistent but not easily correlated with experience. The latter, more traditional a p prortch, based on idealized devices and processes, is usually easier for teaching and learning but sometimes leaves logic "limping about in eccentric and not quite completed cycles." Thermodynamics hooks can fairly well be described nowadays by the way they develop the second law. I n this book, the second law follows from consideration of what happens when constraints on macroscopic systems are successively relaxed. Such processes are quantitatively characterized by the "degree of constraint." the neeative of which is sub-
tuitively appealing connection between entropy and randomness is exploited. An outline of Carathhodory's principle is also given-in a section which the reader is invited to skip if he chooses. I declined the ootion., and found. somewhat to mv surprise, that the alternative treatment was hoth easier to grasp and more aestheti c d y appealing than the main route.
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A central theme of the book, as stated by theauthor, is to clarify thesignificance and applicability of the thermodynamic potentials. This is reasonably well fulfilled. A particularly lucid account of the themodynamics of surface phenomena is thereby made possible. Reiss' book, while not achieving the elegance or readability of Pippard, is the more accessible of the two for one trained in chemistry. I t is clearly not intended as a first introduction to thermodynamirs; it would probably not do even for the second time around. But, for an enterprising student or teacher, this hook offers several novel and perceptive insights into the fundamentals of thermodynamics. S. M. BLINDER University of Michigan Ann Arbor
Fundamentalsof Statistical Thermodynamics
Richard E. Sonntag and Gordon J. Van Wylen, both of the University of LMichigan,Ann Arbor. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1966. xx 370 pp. Figs. and tables. 15.5 X 23.5 em. $8.95.
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Because engineering research and teehnology have expanded into a number of diverse areas, sltch as plasmas, thermoelectric power generation, etc., the need for thermodynamic information on a microscopic scale is more prevalent. Such information is also an educational aid: a student gains an increased understanding for the basis of macrosoopic thermodynamics. This introductory text on statistical thermodynamics presumes a student is familiar with the macroscopic laws; this background is generally necessary for one to gain an appreciation for the subject. Subsequent to a. brief introduction, the diseussinn in Chapter 2 is used to familiarize the reader with the mathematics which is used within the book. Chapters 3 and 4 are concerned with the development of the partition function, the counting procedures, and the connection between macroscopic and statistical thermodynamics. And finally, in Chapter 5 the qnantum mechanical foundations for the suhject are discussed. The selection of any engineering text depends upon the applications of the included subject matter. I n this regard, Chzpters 6 through 9 develop the theory for ideal gases and solids and for chemical equilibrium. The balance of the text is devoted to dependent degrees of freedom including the currently popular topic of irreveisible processes. The text is written withsufficient clarity that the hetter student should have no tmnhle with self-study. Furthermore, an ample number of problems of varying difficulty are included. These problems are designed to hoth complement and supplement the text material. The nomenelsture used is standard with the field, and. this will promote the book as an introductory reference. This text is the second of a series concerned with a unification of the teaching of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat and mass transfer. The area of thermodynamics for the undergraduate is containec! within this volume and another concerned with the macroscopic approach to the thermal sciences. One of t,he main advantages with this tent lies in the clarity with which the authors discuss the necessary assumptions nlch that mathematical complexity is reduced. This reduction in mathematics does, however, eliminate some of the more froitft~lmethods which have been applied in the field and somewhat restricts the number of applications. Of the many beginning texts that are currently being written in this field, this book is certainly one of the better ones.
J. P. STARK University of Tezas Austin (Continued on page A914)
