Β Ε ΥΟ N D Τ H E F L Y L Ε A F by R. (Λ Bard well briefly il»» fines water softening. The first and second editions of this book bave served well a s short but practical guides t o those operating: water treatment plants a s well as textbooks for schools and colleges. The third edition will be still more useful. Jonx U. BAYLIScience Year Book of 1948. J. D . RATCLIFF, editor. xxxvii -f- 244 pages, Doubleday & Co., Inc., Garden City, X. Y., 194S. S3.00. I N this, the seventh annual volume, ''Science Year Book" conies of age; though the previous volumes were good, this one is excellent. Since it consists of a compilation of 29 of the past year's best popular articles on selected scientific? topics, this reflects either a more dis criminating choice or an all-round im provement in the caliber of such writing during the year. It will be interesting t o see whether the editor, the noted science writer J. D. R a t cliff, will be able to maintain this high standard in t h e next volume. Mr. Patcliff has culled from magazines a series of simply-told, y e t absorbingly in teresting, stories of recent practical ad vances on the many fronts of science, in cluding chemistry, medicine, physics, astronomy, and aviation. He h a s pro vided an introduction supplementing these with accounts of such subjects as gasoline from coal, rutin in apoplexy, the .position of streptomycin in t h e treatment of tuberculosis, and the preparation and use of cheap oxygen. Furthermore, he sets forth in a few sentences t h e most lucid discussion of the ethics of the atomic energy problem that this reviewer has seen. The book has considerable educational value and fills a need. It should prove enlightening to t h e layman a n d stimulating to the student o r the scientific specialist. Very strongly bound, and clearly printed •on heavy paper, it should withstand hard use.
R. STUART TIPSON
Improving Supervision. FRAXK CUSHMAN AxVD ROBERT W. CUSHMAX. xiv -f
232 pages. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 440 Fourth Ave., TsTew York. X. Yr., 1947. S2.50. T H E subtitle of this little book describes it as a discussion of human relation prob lems for supervisors in industrial and busi ness organizations. By supervisors the authors mean those of foreman rank who are actually in contact with and who ac tively supervise workmen. For instance, they distinguish and set aside staff super visors (chemists, engineers, etc.), who deal with things and ideas, in favor of line supervisors, who deal with people The discussion of the practical psy chology and common sense of being a foreman is given in simple, readable 2518
English, t h e ideas expressed are reason able and t h e development logical. The book can r>e read in two or three hours without too much effort or hurry. In spite o f all these favorable items, the reviewer is inclined to question the value of t h e wortc. It is addressed to a class of men who rarely read books on how t o im prove themselves in their jobs. The vol ume might, be useful to someone whose duty it is to train foremen, but the sus picion may- arise that such a person would know intuitively much of what is said. In any case, the book can be recom mended t o anyone who wants to learn what nmkos a good foreman. \V. A. G RUSE
Progress i n the Theory of the Physical Properties of Glass. J . M. STEVELS. χ -l· 104 pages. Monographs on the Progress of Research in Holland Dur ing the "War.
R. Hon WINK AND J . A.
A. KETJELAAR, editors. Elsevier Pub lishing C o , Inc., New York 3, ÎST. Y., 1948. S2.00. Γ uïtE silicate, borate, phosphate, and germanate glasses a r e considered in the first main section, "The Density of Glass," of this book. Subsequent sections deal with the electric conductivity of glass, dielectric losses of glass, and molecular refraction of glass, with the aid of tables, graphs, a n d equations. Appendixes give the compositions in weight percentages and in mole percentages of the glasses mentioned.
German
Coatings
Reports
Paint, -varnish, and lacquer are t h e subjects of a- new group of captured German technical reports cataloged by the Office of Technical Services and translated and published by t h e Consultants Bureau, 153 West 33rd St., New York 1, N. Y. A mimeographed list obtainable from the bureau lists t h e publications with prices and abstracts.
Ο TS
Reports
The following OTS reports are available through the Hobart Publishing Co., P. O. Box 4127, Washington 15, D. C : Bichromates Manufacture. PB-22627. F. H.McBeriymd B. H. Wilcoxon. 71 pages. S5.00. Sodium a n d potassium bi chromate manufacture in three ÎG Farben plants is described, as well as the making of chrome alum. An unusual annular hearth kiln, a three-step reaction using lime only in t h e third step, and 'acidification to bichromate using carbon dioxide under pressure are special features. Production of Synthetic Fatty Acids. PB-2422. M. L. Sheely. 37 pages. S3.O0. Two major producing units were investigated, one of IG Farben and one of C H E M I C A L
Deutsche Fettsauerwerke. The process used involved treatment of the waxes with air in t h e presence of a permanganate catalyst at elevated temperatures, with conversion of about one third of the hydrocarbons to fatty acids. A soap derived from t h e unreacted material was dissolved in water and acidulated to convert to free fatty acids, which were distilled.
Bibliography Engineering
of Nomographs
Supplementing "Bibliographies of Chemical Engineering Nomographs" 1, I I , and III, a 10-page bibliography has been prepared by D. S. Davis, of the government laboratories managed by the University of Akron, and deposited with t h e American Documentation Institute, 1719 TsT St., N". W., Washington 6, E>. C, as Document 2528. It may be obtained from the institute a t 50 cents a copy o n microfilm or a t $1.00 for photo copies readable without optical aid.
Northwest Laboratories
Research Listing
Several hundred industries, universities, and commercial laboratories were recently polled by C. K. Sterrett a n d P . D. Christerson of the Portland Chamber of Commerce t o determine just what phases of research work and testing a r e being conducted i n t h e Pacific Northwest. Their 30-page report on t h e type of research and testing done, laboratory facilities, size of staff, and other pertinent data on each laboratory, has been published b y the Raw Materials Survey, 701 Woodlark Ruilding. Portland 5, Ore. Copies arc S2.O0 each.
I
New Books
The First 25 Years of the Naval Research Laboratory. A. II. TAYLOR. U. S. Naval Research Laboratory, Department of the Navy, Washington 25, D. C. Gratis. Influence of Particle Size in Dust Exposure. THEODORE HATCH and W. C. L. HBMEON. Industrial Hygiene Foundation, Mellon Institute of Industrial Research, Pittsburgh 13, Pa. Gratis. Quality Control in Industry. Methods and. Systems. J. G. RUTHERFORD. Pitman Publishing Corp., New York 19, Ν Ύ S3 50. Smoke—The Problem of Coal and the Atmosphere. ARNOLD MARSH. Faber (Sherwood Press), Cleveland, Ohio. $7,O0. ., A Textbook of Inorganic Pharmaceutical Chemistry. C. H, ROGERS, et al Fourth edition. Lea & Febiger, Phila delphia 6, Pa. -$10. X-Ray Diffraction Analysis of Crystalline Dusts. Ή. P. KLUQ, LEROY ALEX ANDER, and ELIZABETH KUMMER. In dustrial Hygiene Foundation, Mellon Institute of Industrial Research, Pitts burgh 13. Pa., Gratis. A N D
ENGINEERING
NEWS
