News Applied Physics. For further infor mation contact the Secretary, The Insti tute of Physics, 47, Belgrave Square, London, S.W. 1, England.
Gas Absorption Symposium Scheduled in England The Midlands branch of the Institu tion of Chemical Engineers is organizing a Symposium on Gas Absorption to be held at the University of Birmingham, England, April 5 to 7. The program will cover a wide field and those attend ing can be assured of hearing of signifi cant contributions. Further details may be learned from "Symposium," Chemical Engineering Department, The University, Edgbaston, Birmingham 15, England.
Stress Analysts to Meet The Society for Experimental Stress Analysis will hold its spring meeting at the Netherlands Plaza Hotel, Cincin nati, April 14 to 16. An educational lecture and exhibit are scheduled. Further information on the meeting may be obtained from Harry LaTour, Chairman, SESA Spring Meeting, 134 Kensington St., Middletown, Ohio.
Symposium on Direct Reading Emission Spectroscopy The American Association of Speetrographers is planning a Symposium on Direct Reading Emission Spectroscopy to be held in Chicago, May 7, 1954. Papers will be presented on iron and steel, nonferrous metals, and metal in nonmetallic materials. Contributed papers are welcome. Inquiries should be addressed to M. E. Slagel, Chairman, U. S. Reduction Co., Box 30, East Chi cago, Ind.
Conference on Instrumentation In Water, Sewage, and Indus trial Waste Treatment A one-day Conference on Instrumen tation in Water, Sewage, and Industrial Waste Treatment will be held at Man hattan College, 242nd St. and Broad way, New York, Ν. Υ., on April 22. Presented by the Civil Engineering De partment of Manhattan College, the conference will provide information on what instrumentation is available and what is needed for the measurement, recording, and control of process vari. ables in these fields. This is a continu ation of the first instrumentation con ference, held in May 1953, proceedings of which will soon be available. Additional information may be ob tained from the Civil Engineering De partment, Manhattan College, New York 71, Ν. Υ. 26 A
NEW BOOKS Chromatography. A Review of Prin ciples and Applications. Edgar Lederer and Michael Lederer, xviii + 460 pages. Elsevier Press, 402 Lovett Blvd., Houston, Tex., 1953. Price, $9.25. Reviewed by HAR OLD H. STRAIN, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, 111. This book is a combined and ex panded version of E. Lederer's "Pro grés récents de la Chromatographie," Première partie, "Chimie Organique et Biologique" (146 pp., 1949) and of M. Lederer's Deuxième partie, "Chimie Minérale" (131 pp., 1952). Arranged along conventional lines, it reviews chromatographic progress of the past 10 or 12 years. The principal divisions are adsorption, ion exchange, partition, organic, and inorganic chromatography. Paper chromatography, which often depends upon adsorption and ion exchange phenomena, is presented as a subdivision of partition chromatography. Among the separations of inorganic and organic substances, paper chromatography is classified in two ways: as equivalent to adsorption, ion exchange, and partition chromatography, and as equivalent to column chromatography. Many chromatograms in paper are reproduced, and R or Rf values are tabulated. The reader, however, will scarcely realize that these values vary with many conditions and are not easily reproducible in different laboratories. Electrochromatography is discussed briefly in the first chapter. Applications of chromatography are presented concisely and, of necessity, incompletely. Chlorophylls, for example, are treated in six lines, carotenoids in one page. An introductory note on the history of chromatography raises some controversial points. Although Tswett described his method briefly in 1903, he did not present an extensive report concerning materials, procedure, and nomenclature until 1906. His development procedure was essentially the flowing chromatogram attributed to others. The circular paper chromatography of leaf pigments described by Brown in 1939 and the one-way and two-way paper chromatography applied by Liesegang preceded the earliest reports that are cited. Because of the arrangement, paucity of generalized treatment, restriction to recent reports, and inclusion of numerous results, this book makes difficult reading for beginners and routine workers. Yet for these very reasons, it is of great aid to specialists and to explor-
atory workers. It is an invaluable supplement to the literature of chromatography. Report of the Thirty-Eighth National Conference on Weights and Measures, 1953. National Bureau of Standards Miscellaneous Publication 209. 116 pages. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C. 40 cents. This publication contains the addresses and reports on weights and measures given by representatives who attended the conference sponsored by NBS May 19 to 22, 1953, and a list of all delegates, including the conference's officers and committees. Among the 430 delegates present were representatives of 39 states and the District of Columbia, many counties and cities, the Federal Government, manufacturers of weighing and measuring devices, associations, and business and industrial organizations. The attendance was the largest in conference history. The report covers prepackaged foods, flour weights, automatic packaging machinery, electronic scales, technicalities in weights and measures court cases, and the proposed international conference on legal metrology. It includes actions of the conference with regard to recommended methods of sale of anhydrous ammonia and other liquid chemical fertilizers with pressure characteristics, and preheated fuel oils. Brief Course in Semimicro Qualitative Analysis. William E. Caldwell and G. Brooks King. 163 pages. American Book Co., 55 Fifth Ave., New York 3, Ν. Υ. $2.10. A manual designed to provide a brief introductory course in qualitative anal ysis. Only the more common cations and acid radicals are included and these are sufficient to illustrate the funda mental principles of qualitative analy sis. Analytical procedures have been carefully checked and will give satis factory results. A section of drill prob lems and exercises grouped by topics is included near the end of the manual. Electrophoresis
Bibliography.
A.
Henley and C. L. Schuettler. 228 pages. American Instrument Co., Inc., 8030 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, Md., 1953. $10.00. A comprehensive bibliography on electrophoresis and related analytical methods such as diffusion studies, ab sorption chromatography, and electrophoresis-convection, carefully organized for rapid and easy reference. Approxi mately 90% of all listings bear Chemical Abstracts numbers. ANALYTICAL
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