UltraflRraHon
L. AmZwd, University of Strasbourg, France, and S. Trantmnn, Centre National de la Recherche Soientifique, France. Charles C Thomas, Spring67 pp. Figs. field, Illinois, 1960. x and tables. 16 X 23.5 cm. $4.50.
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The subject of this small volume is an intriguing one and the physical make-up of the book is most attractive. The foreword by Professor Monnier is a cordial invitation to proceed; appreciation by an uupredjudiced reader is promised. Often in the monograph reference is made to the volume change of hydrated ions, with ionic hydration increasing in dilute solution. Seen in relation to biological systems which contain proteins and electrolytes, ionic hydration is d e e cribed as having far-reaching implications and permitting the formulation of new (we may say unorthodox) views on the pH of body fluids snd the real or apparent nature of the cell membrane. Our comments ought of necessity have to do only with the more physical-ohemical items, some of which are collected to form the section, variation in the hydration of ions and constancy of hydration of non-electrolytes explain many phenomena. A few quotations are suggestive of the general approach. Page 32. In connection with the salting-in of globulins: "If the base is NaOH, the neutral mlt reduces the hydration of the Naf and OHions and consequently renders them more mobile. The mobility of these ion pairs being increased, their collisions with the globulin molecules are more frequent, and they thus recharge the globulins with base. This finally causes the precipitated globulin to redissolve." Page 33. ". . a new chapter was added in the text-books of physical chemistry: 'activity of ions' and 'coefficient of activity' of ions. Authors admitted only in the face of irrefutable observations that the activity of a given ion was capable of varying under . different experimental conditions. But it does not explain why the activity of ions varies; we, for our part, have always been surprised by the way in which many authors have approached this problem. .we have considered ionic activity only from the kinetic point of view." We hesitzte to commend the AmbardTrautmann monograph to readers of OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION. the JOURNAL
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there has long been a need for a catalogue, particularly of named reaetions. Profre sors Gowm and Wheeler have so well met this need in their book that it will form a valuable addition to the reference shelf of not only organic chemists, but also industrial chemists and others who must make frequent or occasional use of the organic chemical literature. The book is a catalogue of 739 named reactions and syntheses, with references to the early published work on the reactions and their major modifications. Also included are a few rules of reaction, such its the Blanc rule (called the Blanc reaction). It is a second, greatly expanded edition. The first, 1950, edition, published by the Society of Chemical Industry, was less widely distributed. To keep the book within practical limits, the authors have excluded named an* lytical and color reactions. They showed admirable restraint in excluding all but occasional superficial treatment of reaction mechanisms. Equations with graphic formulas are given for all reactions. The cross reference style, in which all names associated with the included reactions are listed alphabetically, adds to the usefulness of the book. Also useful are the inclusion of a list of allied named reactions with each entry, and a type of reaction index. In a book as comprehensive as this, one may wonder a t the ocessional omission of such familiar reactions as the Bertbelot hydrogen iodide reduction (now little used, but so also is the Wiihler synthesis), the Dow aniline synthesis, and the Hibbert dehydration method. Nonetheless, the paucity of such omissions is evidence of the general completeness of the treatment. One may a180 take exception occasionally to a reaction designation. For example, Grignard reaction is used to name what in the United States is more often termed a Grignard synthesis. Here the Grignard reaction usually refers to the preparation of an alkyl or aryl magnesium halide (which is omitted from the Name Index). However, the authors' inclusion in the majority of cases of descriptive terms with the reaction name, as "Gabriel preparation of primary amines," should set an example for those organic chemists who persist in naming things.
L. OLIVERSMITH,JR. Valparaiso University Valparaiso, Indiana
J. W. WILLI~MS University of Wiseansin The Science Study Series. Volumes Madison l Z a n d 18 Name Index of Organic Reactions
J . E. Gowan and 1'. S . Wheeler, both of University College, Dublin, Ireland. 2nd ed. Interscience Publishers, Inc., 293 pp. 15 New Yark, 1960. vii X 22 cm. $8.50.
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One of the major difficulties in roading the literature of organic chemistry is the predilection of organic chemists to identify reactions, reagents, theories, parameters, indeed, almost anything, by persans' names. Since not only familiar, but a l ~ orarer entities are often so identified,
588 / Journol o f Chemicol Educofion
Doubleday & Co., Inc., Garden City, New York, 1960 and 1961. Available to secondary school students and teachers through Wesleyan University Press, Columbus 16, Ohio. Figs. and tables. Paperbound. Volume 12, 198 pp., 50.95; Volume 18, 195 pp., $0.95. "The Restless Atom" by Alfred Romer (Volume 12) is afaseinatingmystery story. Radioactivity is the plot, but the hero is the physicist-chemist-detective who appeartrs as a composite of all the great names of early 20th century physics. In one sense, this book is a biography of a stirring era in physics. It is more than that,
however, in spite of its careful attention to chronology. The human story is skillfully interwoven. The frustrations as well as the inspirations in the laboratory are revealed with delightful candor. The result is one of the best book available to make clear that discoveries are made by men and women, not by "science." "Water, the Mirror of Science" by Kenneth S. Davis and John Arthur Day (Volume 18) will be disappointing to teachers of chemistry. All of chemistryfrom Democritus through phlogiston to Rutherford and Bohr and eventually to Hoyle's cosmology--gets into the act along with large amounts of physics and some geology. This is definitely not a book for a. beginner in science. If he can see the "aims, methods and outlook of science" in this story as is claimed, our guess is that he already has his Ph.D! He certainly can get his facts straight about water better by reading a good modem introductory chemistry text. W. F. K.
Chemistry of Carbon Compounds. Volume 4. Part C: Heterocyclic Compounds
Edited by E. H . Rodd. Elsevier Publishing Co. Sole distributors for the USA, D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc., Princeton, New Jersey, 1960. xviii 737 pp. 63 tables. 16 X 23 cm. $26.50.
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Volume 4C of E. H. Rodd's "Chemistry of Carbon Compounds'' concludes the survey of heterocyclic compounds begun four years ago in Volumw 4A and 4B. The 14 chapters in the present text commence with a survey of 6-membered rings with 2 hetero-atoms and continue with a discussion of the chemistry of compounds containing Gmembered rings with more than 2 hetero-atoms, 7-membered and larger rings with various hetero-atoms, purines and related ring systems, nucleosides, nucleotides, nucleic acids, pt&dines, alloxmines, and Rvitamins and related compounds. The find 7 chapters (some 332 pages) survey the various alkaloids derived from different ring systems as well as from acyclic systems. The organization, emphasis and style throughout the book remain similar to that found in earlier volumes, and the high quality and lucidity of the predecessors remain in evidence. An index of 69 pages containing approximately 6500 entries referring only to Volume 4C completes the text. Page numbering is consecutive from Volume 4B. Twentyeight new periodicals are referred to in the present volume, in addition to the approximately 240 periodicals surveyed for the contents of the previous Volume 4B. A staff of 14 authors, including the editor, Professor Rodd, has contributed to the writing of the present volume, which once again, is remarkable in its stylistic homogeneity and uniformity. An errata list of only 14 corrections to previous Volumes 2B, 4A, and 4B again offers testimony to the careful editorial super-
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