NEW BOOKS The Newer Alchemy. By LORDRUTHERFORD. 67 pp. London: Cambridge University Press, 1937. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937. Price: $1.50. I t is a long contrast from ancient to modern alchemy which Rutherford makes in this little volume based on the Henry Sidgwick lecture which he gave a t Kewnham College, Cambridge, in h’ovember, 1936. No one was better equipped for this span than he who, together with Soddy, first proposed atomic disintegration as the explanation of radioactivity; also he who observed the first transmutation by bombarding nitrogen with alpha particles and in whose laboratory Cockcroft and Walton made the first transmutation by purely artificial means. The various counting methods are described, the cloud chamber, the Van der Graaf and Lawrence high voltage machine, and the discovery of neutrons and positrons. The mass-energy transformation of Einstein is accepted as the basis of mass-energy relations in the nuclear reactions. Although a net energy gain results from some nuclear reactions, the prediction is made that they will not prove an energy source of practical importance. The bombarding reagents and the various types of nuclear reactions are briefly reviewed. X-rays of high energy have also been found effective in bringing about nuclear changes as Rutherford predicted a number of years ago. S. C. LIND.
A Hundred Years of Chemistry. by ALEXANDER FINDLAY. 352 pp. New York: The MacMillan Company, 1937. Price: $3.75. The author needs no introduction t o American chemists. His previous works in the field of physical and general chemistry are well known t o our readers. The present book might be regarded as a series of essays or chapters on the history of development in about a dozen different fields of chemistry more or less unrelated. His style is, as usual, clear and vivid. The choice of material is representative. Of course, i t is a rather large undertaking t o give an adequate survey of the hundred years of chemistry which covers nine-tenths or more of the whole, and yet do equal justice to all the fields. Naturally, a epecialist in one of the various fields may be disappointed t o find neglect of an important part of his subject. The reviewer, for example, thinks i t unfortunate not t o have included in the chapter on radioactivity something of the newer nuclear chemistry. By the use of the expression “excess positive charge of the nucleus” the author seems t o believe still t h a t there are free electrons in the nucleus. The conception of the neutron, of course, renders this assumption unnecessary, or even untenable. A very welcome and unusual feature of the book is an appendix of twenty pages containing biographical notes regarding about sixty chemists mentioned in the text. A combined subject and author index is also provided. S. C. LIND. Glossary of Physics. By LEROYD. WELD. 255 pp. New York: The McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1937. Price: $2.50. This glossary contains some 2500 t o 3000 definitions of terms, equipment, principles, equations, etc.. used in the science of physics. The definitions are clear, 693
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concise and up-to-date. Literature references are frequently given which greatly enhance its value. The arrangement is alphabetical. It is a valuable book of ready reference. S. C. LIKD. Katalyse und Determinismus. Ein Betrag ZUT Philosophie der Chemie. By ALWIN > ~ T T A S C H . 14.5 x 22 cm.; ix 203 pp. Berlin: Julius Springer, 1938. Price: 9.60 RM. I n this book Dr. hlittasch. who has in recent years written several very interesting books on the history of catalysis and on the r61e of catalytic phenomena in chemistry and biology, now enters the field of philosophy or, more correctly expressed, t h a t of the philosophy of science. Starting with a discussion of the part played by catalysis in the “causation” of chemical phenomena (including especially the action of biocatalysts), the author soon proceeds t o attack the wider general problems of determinism, causality, holism, and finalism in relation t o all science. It would not be unfair t o say that the main attack centers round the phenomena presented by living organisms. From the hundreds of brief quotations interspersed throughout the text and the extensive bibliography, i t is clear that Dr. Mittasch has read very widely in philosophical and biological literature and that his intention is to deal fairly with all shades of opinion. This embarrassment of riches, however, combined with a rather heavy literary style, makes the reading of the book somewhat difficult. One gathers t h a t the author follows Planck and Einstein in holding t o the principle of a “strict” causality. He adopts the “holistic” point of view so closely associated with the names of General Smuts and the late Professor Haldane, and sees in every “whole” (Ganzheit)a hierarchy of causes (“causalisms”), each of which possesses a determinate rank in the Eangordnung (order of ranking) of the whole, and all of which contribute t o the causality of the whole.” Thus, when we have t o deal with living organisms, a place can be found for the “entelechial causalisms” postulated by Driesch, and especially for “psychical causalisms.” T h a t these causal factors cannot be pictured in time and space is no drawback, for, as the author points out, the kame thing applies t o the concepts of modern atomic physics. Moreover, as Bohr has so clearly indicated, the progressive advance of science must prepare us for a continuous development and widening of our concepts. Thus when we view the hierarchy of a living whole from “above downwards” or from “below upwards,” the psychicalentelechial and the physicochemical descriptions may be rcgarded, not as coutradictory, hut as “complementary” in the sense of Bohr’s principle of complementarity. I t would not be possible in a short review t o do justice to D r . Mittasch’s learned discussion. Mathematicians, physicists, astronomers, and biologists have freely ventured t o discuss the philosophy of science. It was time, as the author says, that a chemist took a hand in this game. With that opinion all chemists will surely agree, and we may certainly congratulate D r . Jlittasch on being led from meditations concerning the phenomena of catalysis t o a brave attack on the dragons of philosophical doubt. Although the reviewer believes that progress in this direction is most likely t o come from an application of the methods of mathematical analysis and symbolic logic t o the statement of the problems, that is no reason why D r . Mittasch should not follow the more usual method. Wisely perhaps, he nowhere attempts t o define and distinguish what he means by causality, determinism, finalism, etc. But the results are somewhat disconcerting. Thus his “determinism” seems t o involve “Plan” and “Ziel,” whereas determinism as usually defined in-
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volves nothing more than a determinate functional relation between the “before” and the “after,” as measured or observed. One final remark on the subject of causality. Has D r . Mittasch ever read the sound criticism of David Hume? F. G. DOKNAN. Abridged Scientific Publication from the Kodak Research Laboratories. Volume XVIII (1936). Rochester, N. Y.: The Eastman Kodak Company, 1937. The eighteenth volume contains about sixty abridged papers condensed from the form in which they appeared in 1936 in about a dozen and a half different scientific periodicals. These papers are principally in the field of photography, optics, and spectroscopy, with some contribution t o analytical and organic chemistry and t o radiography. S. C. LIKD. The Retardation of Chemical Reactions. By KEXNETH C . BAILEY. 479 pp. Kern York: Longmans, Green and Company, 1937. Price: $8.00. For the past two decades the chemist has been learning that it is often as import a n t t o prevent reactions a s t o cause them. The discovery of chain mechanism, which p u t the subject on a scientific basis, has stimulated research and applications. The author has covered the entire field mostly from the experimental viewpoint. After a brief historical survey he takes up the mbject of oxidation, chain reactions, antioxidants, and oxidation of organic and inorganic substances in the gaseous, liquid, and solid states, t o which more than half of the book is devoted. Among applications he discusses the protection of rubber, the prevention of metallic corrosion, the setting of cement and plaster of Paris, antiknock action, the stabilization of hydrogen peroxide, decompositions of various types, the hydrogen-chlorine reactions, polymeric and isomeric changes, and a number of unclassified reactions. This subject cannot fail t o be of interest both practically and theoretically t o a wide circle of chemists. The author has made an excellent selection of experimental material, and has picked his way carefully through the maze of kinetic fact and fancy which fills the literature. An extensive bibliography of 1630 references, which occupies nearly 100 pages and takes the place of an author index, doubtles? has added materially t o the cost of the book.
S. C. LIXD. The Fine Structure of Matter: Part I . X-rays and the Structure of Matter. By C. H . DOUGLAS CLARK. 216 pp. Kew York: John Wiley and Sons, 1937, Price: $4.25.
This book is P a r t I of Volume I1 of A Comprehensive Treatise on Atomic and illolecular Structure being prepared by the author in a fashion somewhat similar t o Mellor’s monumental work in the field of inorganic chemistry. Works of this type are a great boon t o the teacher and t o the research investigator, and are very welcome additions t o our scientific literature. It is not a book from which t o study the subject in detail, b u t attempts t o give a general outline of the field together with many references t o the original literature. More than a thousand references, chiefly from the period 1928-1934, are given. For earlier references the reader is expected t o consult Ewald a n d Hermann’s Strukturbericht. I n the general preface the author points out his purpose t o save space by frequent reference t o summarizing works, and thereby t o avoid repetition of the original
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references quoted in them. I t is surprising then t o find only three additional books on the subject listed among the references. Such excellent books as Wyckoff’s Structure of Crystals and its 1930-1934 Supplement might well have been mentioned for their important summaries of crystal structure results. It is not quite clear why the references could not have been brought up t o a later date than the end of 1934 in a book which did not appear off the press until late in 1937. The common symbols of crystallography and crystal structure have been largely omitted from the list of symbols in the front of the book, but they have been used freely throughout the book. The first chapter, on crystal geometry and the methods of analysis, cannot be considered t o have been adequately treated, but the rest of the material seems reasonably complete. For example, the atomic structure factor in the appendix has a list of 120 references. There are a few important omissions, The Weissenberg method is not mentioned, and the only reference t o molecular rotation in solids is on page 103. The book contains many excellent drawings of structures, but figures X I , XVII, and XXXV might well have been replaced with simpler diagrams. The reviewer doubts that much advantage was gained by the adoption of the symbols suggested on page 71. I n fact, the author has not been wholly consistent in the use of his symbols, as is seen on pages 55, 56, and 86. Errors of one kind or another inevitably creep into a work of this kind. Some of them noted by the reviewer are on pages 10, 15, 37, 71, and 119. A few simple typographical errors were also noted. In conclusion, i t is the reviewer’s opinion that the book will Berve a very useful purpose as a quick reference t o the resuIts of crystal analysis. HAROLD P. KLUG. Textbook of Thermodynamics. By PAULEPSTEIN, Professor of Theoretical Physics, California Institute of Technology. xii 406 pp.; 64 figs.; 14i x 23 em. Kew York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1937. Price: cloth, $5.00. The author treats thermodynamics from the point of view of the physicist. He has designed his book to be used partly as a basic course for seniors and younger graduate students, and partly for reference or for courses given to more advanced students. The arrangement of the material is along the lines of the classical treatment. The hook contains, however, much modern material and much that is of interest to the chemist. The author has departed from the notation which has become more or less standardized in this country. He deals with the fundamental concepts in a detailed and careful manner, and makes numerous applications in the realm of physics and chemistry, His concept of entropy is based upon the cyclical processes. Chapters are included dealing with electron and ion clouds, equilibrium involving radiation, magnetic and electric phenomena, and the limitations of thermodynamics, including the theory of fluctuations. The historical development of the first law is interestingly discussed in seven pages. The author follows the Nernst tradition and omits references t o important American contributions to the field.
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Gmelins Handbuch der anorgnnischen Chemie. 8 Auflage. Herausgegeben von der Deutschen Chemischen Gesellschaft. System-Nummer 22: Kalium. Lieferung 4 . Verbindungen bis Kaliumacetat. 26 x 18 em.; pp. xxv 805-932. Berlin: Verlag Chemic, 1937. Price: 15 Rbl. The present section includes compounds of potassium with boron and carbon.
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The boron compounds include borates, perborates, and borofluorides; the carbon compounds include carbides, carbonyls, carbonates (with their manufacture), carbamate, percarbonates, cyanide (with its manufacture), cyanate, thiocyanate, formate, and acetate. The perborates are treated as true per-salts. The carbonate is now largely made by the Engel-Precht process, depending on the decomposition of potassium chloride solution with magnesium carbonate, full details of the various modifications of which are given, but it is also produced by the action of carbon dioxide on electrolytic caustic potash. Full details of the properties of all the compounds are given, the recent literature being well covered, but the solubility of potassium thiocyanate in alcohol is omitted. J. R. PARTINGTON.
Gmelins Handbuch der anorganischen Chemie. 8 Auflage. Herausgegeben von der Deutschen Chemischen Gesellschaft. System-Nummer 24: Rubidium. 26 x 18 cm.; pp. x 250. Berlin: Verlag Chemie, 1937. Price: 31.50 RM. The present volume constitutes a complete monograph on rubidium and its compounds. The compounds of rubidium are prepared from carnallite, and rubidium and cesium compounds from lepidolite. A method of preparation depends on the precipitation of cesium, but not rubidium, by antimony trichloride from solutions of the chlorides in hydrochloric acid. There has been a considerable fall in price of rubidium and cesium compounds since 1930. Pure rubidium is obtained by thermal decomposition of the azide. There is a section on analytical chemistry. J. R. PARTINGTON.
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Gmelins Handbuch der anorganischen Chemie. 8 Auflage. Herausgegeben von der Deutschen Chemischen Gesellschaft. System-Nummer 27: Magnesium. Teil B. Lieferung 1. Verbindungen bis Magnesium und Jod. 28 x 18 cm.; pp. vii 200. Berlin: Verlag Chemie, 1937. Price: 23.25 RM. Compounds of magnesium with hydrogen (MgH detected in band spectra only), oxygen, nitrogen (including oxy-compounds), and halogens (including oxy-salts) are described in a very thorough manner. The nitride is prepared by heating magnesium filings for 4 to 5 hours a t 800-850°C. in pure nitrogen. The use of magnesium perchlorate as a drying agent for gases is described. The descriptions of the solubilities are accompanied by phase rule diagrams, and there are extensive tables of numerical data. Some of the sections are of considerable technical interest. The general feature of the whole treatise, viz., a full description of the physical chemistry of the materials described, is evident in the present volume, which will be of considerable interest t o physical chemists. J. R. PARTINGTON.
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Legierungen der PlatinmetaEZe. Patentsammlung. By G. A. G R ~ ~ T Z NAND E R C. G ~ T Z E Anhang . zu den System-Nummern 63 bis 68, Gmelins Handbuch der anorganischen Chemie. 8 Auflage. Herausgegeben von der Deutschen Chemischen Gesellschaft. 26 x 18 cm.; 536 pp. Berlin: Verlag Chemie, 1937. Price: 40.50 RM. The uses of the platinum metals and their alloys have recently become increasingly important and there is a large patent literature. The present volume brings this together in a very convenient tabular form, the compositions and properties of the alloys being given briefly in a systematic order, with references to the patents. The treatment is very complete, and the book is therefore of considerable value and importance. J. R. PARTINGTON.
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Reports on Progress i n Physics. Volume IV. Published by t h e Physical Society. 26 x 18 cm.; vi 389 pp. Cambridge: The University Press, 1937. Price: 20s. The present volume contains eighteen articles, those of particular interest t o physical chemists being on the adsorption of gases on solids, surface tension, supersonics, thermodynamics, t h e electronic charge, electrolytes, spectroscopy and some aspects of atomic physics, although nearly all the remaining articles contain more or less of general interest from the point of view of physical chemistry. T h e sections usually present enough background t o make them intelligible and interesting, the abstract style being notably avoided in the better articles. I n some cases, as in the section on electrolytes, the detailed presentation of well-knoivn material, which can be found in textbooks, seems t o the reviewer t o have been overdone, t o the exclusion of more recent developments, no mention a t all of which is t o be found. X o modern presentation of the theory of electrolytes can be based on the simple theoryof Debye and Hiickel, as is done here, at least if the interests of physical chemists are t o be considered As in previous reports, there is a welcome tendency t o include quantitative data, so t h a t these volumes will, during the period of their youth, form useful supplements t o tables of data. The paper, printing, and binding are of high quality. J. R. PARTINGTON.
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Thermodynamics. By E. FERMI. 23 x 16 em.; x 160 pp, London and Glasgow: Blackie and Son, Ltd., 1938. Price: 12s.6d.net. This book is characterized by a very clear treatment of fundamental principles and their application t o a restricted field of problems, especially chemical equilibria in gases and dilute solutions. Ideal systems only are considered. The two laws are treated in a very clear and satisfactory manner, the second law being developed in relation t o Carnot’s cycle through the efficiency of a reversible engine in the classical manner. This treatment can hardly be evaded if a real understanding of the matter is desired. T h e entropy and thermodynamic potentials are then carefully dealt with, irreversible changes being included. The chapter on thermodynamic potentials gives one of t h e very few deductions of the maximum work equation (called by the author the isochore equation) t o be found in treatises on thermodynamics. The same remark may also be made about t h e deduction of the maximum work of a gas reaction in the following chapter, in which the external work term is correctly retained. I n the chapter on dilute solutions Planck’s treatment is essentially followed. The last chapter, on Nernst’s theorem, contains a brief but valuable sketch of its relation t o statistical methods, and, in view of recent criticisms of t h e theorem and the undoubted competence of the author in the field of statistics, it is interesting t o note his conclusion t h a t the theorem is generally valid. There arc problems for exercise but no answers to them. Prof. Fermi’s book would form a very useful supplement to some recent treatises in which the fundamentals of thermodynamics are dealt with in a sketchy manner, or entirely omitted, so t h a t the real meaning of the subject is obscured and its applications become largely exercises in algebra or elementary,ralculus, a treatment which the author expressly avoids. The book may be recommended as a very clear and accurate introduction t o the subject of thermodynamics. J. R. PARTIIGTON.
