New Books and Booklets ELECTROKINETIC PHENOMENA.
Harold A. Abramson.
A. C S.
Monograph Series No. 66. 316 pages. The Chemical Catalog Co., Inc., 330 West 42nd St., New York, 1934. Price, $7.50.
TELE adjective "electrokinetics was first used by Freundlich to designate the electrical potential set up at the interface liquidliquid or the interface solid-liquid when tangential movement of one phase relative t o the other takes place. In the words of the author: "This volume will endeavor to show how the study of what is tantamount to the conductance contributed by a particle moving through a liquid in an electric field, or^how the study of potentials set up when the movement occurs at the interface because of a mechanical stress, gives most important information in regard t o surface properties in general.'' Approximately one-third of the volume deals with a survey of t h e historical aspects and earlier theories of electrokinetic phenomena and the experimental methods of measurement which have yielded more or less satisfactory quantitative results. This is followed b y a comprehensive survey of recent theories and experiments related thereto. Turning t o the special aspects of the subject, the author takes u p first the structurally complex proteins and protein surfaces. I n spite of the complication of chemical structure this is justified, since protein surfaces are less complicated than any other surfaces discussed for the reason that the average electric charge per dissolved molecule can be determined b y a thermodynamic method and the charge determined in this way can serve as a, reference with which the theories of electrokinesis can be tested. Following a detailed consideration of the electrokinetic behavior of t h e proteins and related compounds, the discussion is extended to other organic materials, blood cells, spermatozoa, tissues, etc. ; and to clays, soils, and other inorganic materials. In bringing together and correlating the diverse facts and theories of electrokinesis, t h e author has accomplished a worthwhile task i n a very creditable way. The book emphasizes the great need for skillful investigations of many problems. I t will be found indispensable to every colloid chemist, and especially to those interested i n surface reactions in biological and medical problems. The book is carefully organized and written. The generous use of section and paragraph headings in boldface type makes for easy reading and greatly increases the usefulness of the volume. I n a book so well put together otherwise, it is unfortunate that the labeling of t h e ordinates for the curves is not more uniform. I n some cases figures a s large as the capital letters in. the chapter headings are used, and in other cases figures as small as the reference numbers are employedHARRY B. WEISER NEW CAREERS FOR YOUTH.
Today's Job Outlook for Men and
Women from Seventeen to Thirty-Two. Walter B. Pitkin. 236 pages. Simon and Schuster, New York, 1934. Price, $1.50.
WHILE this hook has been written for those who are between seventeen and thirty-two years of age, who are not members of millionaires, families, who are enterprising but cannot see any future for themselves, it will nevertheless interest a much wider circle. Dr. Pitkin had made available to him through the Emergency Work Bureau of the Gibson Committee in New York City a group of more than thirty research assistants, who interviewed some five hundred leaders in various fields, and upon the information thus gained this book has been built. From it has been deleted all unwarranted optimism, and in the effort to present things as they really are in the view of the author, it tends toward pessimism i n certain sections. The volume is full of sentences t h a t would serve as texts for sermons and subjects for editorials. For example: "Yesterday t h e job determined t h e worker. Today there are magnificent opportunities for the superior worker to determine the job." "The very rich and the very poor are disappearing. The middle-class job, the middle-class income, and the middle-class outlook on life will prevail in your day. And life will be better for the change." "America is n o t going back to hand labor. It is not going back to the mule and the hoe; nor to the needle and thimble; nor to the horse and buggy. America is moving onward and upward. Away from, drudgery, on toward leisure." A brief section on how to use the book is followed by a few paragraphs on the new attitude toward work. Then come some 40 pages, entitled "Planning Your Career." This is full of interesting points, and among other effects should stimulate profound discussion i n many academic faculties. Dr. Pitkin says that altogether too much time is wasted in the average college course and
that there is a shameful neglect of those factors which are the most important in fitting the student for life as it is today. He finds too much planning for tomorrow based on what was yesterday and too little emphasis upon versatility and adaptability. This section concludes with emphasis placed upon the importance of earth and man lore, language skill, number lore, managing men and materials—the cardinal points in fitting one for life as we find it today. The next section deals with the overcrowded fields where more than twenty types of work are discussed and the reader is warned to avoid them. Then follows a section, entitled "The Paradox of Engineering," which shows that, while engineering a s a whole is a badly overcrowded profession, engineers in fact have excellent opportunities. The several engineering professions are described separately, and the fourth section lists the hopeful field. Here we find eighteen sub-headings and t o each a page or two of sound advice is given. A short section then discusses "Merger Jobs." The sixth section is devoted to "Make Your Own Job," and here a dozen outlets are suggested. The book ends with a brief discussion of distribution and home economics. Many who read this book will disagree with some of t h e statements, but they wall find themselves praising yet other points of view. The older generation will wish t n a t such a volume had been· available when they had to plan their careers; the new generation should be grateful for this serious effort t o p u t good advice at their disposal in a form easy to assimilate and throughout very much to the point. P H Y S I K A L I S C H E ElGENSCHAFTEN UND FErNBAU YON NA.TUR- UND KUNSTHAHZEN. R. Houwinh. VOLUME XI. KOLLOIDFORSCH-
UNG IN EINZELDORSTELLTJNGEN. 225 pages, Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft, Leipzig, 1934. Price, paper, 10 marks; bound, 12 marks.
T H E more common natural resins and artificial resins of the more important types are given a theoretical and practical treatment from the physical and colloidal points of view, This is in no sense a handbook; i t is rather a correlation of physical data and their interpretation in terms of colloidal theory, naturally with major emphasis upon the author's own rather attractive theories of resin structure. A general background of the theory of deformation of amorphous materials and a discussion of the "Williams plastometer are applied to various specific cases. There is a good chapter on the relation of plastic properties to temperature and time of hardening, in which the author is considerably happier in discussing the artificial resins than the natural varieties. A chapter on elastic properties is likewise somewhat limited t o the synthetics. Considerable space is given to the development of the "isogel" theory of resin structure and harmonization of resin properties with this theory. Particular emphasis i s laid on the inapplicability of the long micellar theory of structure t o resins. In general, optical properties of resins are shown to be such a s are exhibited by anisotropic bodies. Viscosity data in relationship to micellar magnitude include considerable original work. The book is well annotated but also includes considerable original data. An appreciated feature will be found in the short, well-organized summaries following each chapter. J . ALFRED HALL
PRÉCIS DE TOXICOLOGIE.
Ε. Kohn-Aftresl.
388 pages -f- 54
figures. G. Doin & Cie, 8 place de l'Odeon, Paris, 1934. Price, paper, 50 francs.
THIS publication is what its title designates—an abstract of toxicological methods and technic—in so far .as it relates to t h e chemi cal determination of toxic substances. It does not go into the pathological study of tissues, or the biological examination of blood, urine, and other bodily secretions that are often tested in cases of poisoning. The book is a valuable laboratory manual for anybody who is familiar with toxicological testing, for i t contains a great deal of information in a condensed form. It is not intended for a novice or for one who is not familiar with the principles of toxicological work. In general, it is up to date, though it neglects t o discuss the effect of formaldehyde embalming fluids on cyanide, which causes considerable difficulty in detecting cyanides in cases of suspeeted poisoning where the body has been prepared for burial with the use of formaldehyde. The book is well typed, the paper is substantial, and it can be easily bound for laboratory use. The French is easy, so that any one at all familiar with the language would have no difficulty in following the outlines. BL C. FULLER
267
NEWS
268 ANNUAL
SURVEY
O F AMERICAN
CHEMISTRY.
Vol. 12, N o . 14
E D I T I O N
VOLUME V I I I ,
1933. Edited b y Clarence J. West. 403 pages. Published for t h e National Research Council b y T h e Chemical Catalog Co., Inc., 330 West 42nd St., N e w York, Ν . Υ . , 1934. Price, $4.50. LIMITATION of available funds makes i t necessary to continue the rotation of t h e topics in t h e Annual Survey of American Chemis t r y . T h e following topics are discussed, of which twelve are more or less confined to t h e field of pure science: Theories of Solutions, Kinetics of Homogeneous G a s Reactions, Subatomic Phenomena, Thermodynamics a n d Thermochemistry, Colloids, Contact Catalysis, Structure Determination b y X - R a y a n d Elec tron Diffraction, Electrochemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Com pressed Gases, Aliphatic Compounds, Carbocyclic Compounds, Pharmaceuticals, Biochemistry, Ferrous Metals i n 1932 a n d 1933, Insecticides a n d Fungicides, Chemistry of the Silicates, Ceramics, Petroleum Chemistry a n d Technology, Cellulose a n d Paper, Leather, Paints, Rubber, a n d Gaseous Fuels during 1932 and 1933. T h e a u t h o r s of t h e various chapters have evidently been chosen, as usual, from those competent t o review t h e particular subjects assigned. "VVhile t h e review of each subject must be substantially confined t o t h e progress in American chemistry, it m u s t neces sarily suffer from t h e practical exclusion of all foreign develop ments in the same field. T h e volume contains 403 pages and is replete with references. I n some instances, however, these do n o t cover all the American work published during the year. T h e volume m a y be used as a valuable reference book.
is of the same general t y p e as the excellent work w i t h which i t is associated and which is well known t o chemists generally. Various items in the existing Dictionary h a v e been retained a n d new knowledge concerning t h e m recorded. I t is evident from t h e list of contributors t h a t t h e greatest care has been exercised in making the supplement something of real value as a reference work and entirely worthy to augment t h e existing Dictionary. SOCIETY OF DYERS AND COLOUIUSTS CELEBRATE F I F T I E T H ANNIVERSARY THE
SOCIETY O F D Y E R S ANT> COLOTJRISTS, 32 Piccadilly, B r a d -
ford, Yorkshire, England, is celebrating i t s fiftieth anniversary of organization b y issuing a special jubilee n u m b e r of i t s journal. T h i s is a volume of more t h a n 225 pages, consisting almost entirely of original articles, some of which deal principally with special subjects, a n d others being reviews of fifty years of progress along special lines. This issue t h e n becomes something of a reference work a n d has a historical value as well, for in i t is reproduced some of t h e literature pertaining t o t h e society. T h u s we see t h e front cover of the first issue of t h e journal, a circular issued convening a meeting of t h e textile color trade, a copy of t h e notice of t h e first meeting, a n d the proposed rules of t h e society, official notes taken at t h e first meeting, a n d similar material. W e congratulate t h e society on completing fifty years of useful leadership and recommend t h i s issue of t h e journal to those interested in this subject.
JAMES H. H I B B E N THE
N A T I O N A L P H Y S I C A L LABORATORY R E P O R T FOR T H E Y E A R
1933. Depart?nent of Scientific and Industrial Research. 261 pages. Published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1934. Price, $3.50. T H E volume contains a series of short abstracts covering work done by the N a t i o n a l Physical Laboratory during 1933. Portions most likely t o be of interest t o various groups i n the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY are: Biochemistry: t h e r m a l properties of meat, page 3 7 . Chemical Engineering: heat transfer from metal pipes t o an a i r stream, page 32; heat transfer b y air convection, page 34; evaporation from wet surfaces, page 3 3 ; heat loss from hare pipes, page 147; lubrication, page 158. Metallurgy: ther m a l and electrical conductivity of metals, page 2 5 ; thermal con ductivity of refractories, page 2 6 ; x-ray research on metals, pages 41, 5 1 ; hardness tests, page 142; impact tests, page 145; fatigue tests, page 147; report of department of metallurgy and metallurgical chemistry, page 171 ff. Physical Chemistry: ratio of specific heats a t high temperatures, page 2 6 ; international temperature scale, page 28. T h e general reader will b e interested in the tests on watches re ported on page 140 fï., since the report mentions t h e names of the watch manufacturers and gives t h e order of merit of the watches tested. Our own Bureau of Standards might be more useful t o t h e taxpayer if it could follow this example. W H E E L E R P. DAVEY T E C H N I C A L ASSOCIATION P A P E R S .
Published b y t h e Technical
Association of t h e Pulp and Paper Industry, N e w York, 1934. 540 pages. Price, $5. T H I S volume of over 500 pages records t h e technical development of t h e pulp, paper, and alEed industries for t h e year 1933-34, a n d contains t h e annual convention papers a n d proceedings of t h e Technical Association of t h e P u l p a n d Paper I n d u s t r y . I t is edited b y t h e secretary of t h e association, Honald G . Macdonald. I t is obviously impossible t o review a volume comprising so many a n d varied subjects although they m a y be related; b u t the series of which this is a p a r t is so well known a n d established t h a t w e n e e d only announce i t s availability a n d express t h e view t h a t it is quite up to the s t a n d a r d established by i t s prede-
DlCTIONARY
OF APPLIED
CHEMISTRY.
SUPPLEMENT.
J.
F.
Thorpe a n d IV. A. Whiieley. Volume I (A-M). 680 pages -fabbreviations a n d list of contributors. Longmans, Green & Co., London, N e w York, Toronto, 1934. Price, $25. T H I S supplement is t h e first of t w o volumes which have been brought together some seven years since t h e last volume of t h e present edition of t h e Dictionary, compiled b y Sir Edward Thorpe w i t h t h e assistance of eminent contributors, made its appearance. T h e supplement is intended t o bring t h e Dictionary up t o date; a n d , while tlie Dictionary's style has been dropped for t h e time being a n d a series of contributed monographs, written b y those eminent in t h e field described, has been used instead, t h e volume
M C G R A W - H I L L CELEBRATES T W E N T Y - F I F T H ANNIVERSARY THE
MCGRAW-HILL BOOK
Co.,
I N C . , New
York,
Ν . Ύ.,
b y w a y of marking i t s twenty-fifth anniversary, h a s issued an attractive brochure illustrated with photographs of t h e founders a n d officers of t h e company, of t h e consulting editors, depart m e n t heads, field representatives, a n d general staff. T h e brochure contains an interesting article b y James H . M c G r a w on " T h e Power in B o o k s , " another b y M a r t i n M . P o s s on " H i g h Lights of Twenty-Five Years," and a n interesting contribution by D e x t e r S. Kimball " I n Praise of Books a n d Bookmakers." ACIDITY OF ROASTED C O F F E E T H E M I N E R LABORATORIES have issued a report of research on "Acidity of Roasted Coffee," work which was done in connection w i t h a fellowship established by t h e National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia, 96 F r o n t St., N e w York, Ν . Υ. T h e work is a worth-while addition t o the inadequate literature in t h e field of coffee and the information disclosed should constitute "one more tool for t h e investigation of t h e many unsolved prob lems of coffee technology."
Financial News A I R REDUCTION C O . T h e company's business for t h e second q u a r t e r was considerably a h e a d of t h e first quarter, i n spite of a slight let-down in J u n e . T h e company has p a i d dividends without interruption t h r o u g h t h e depressions of 1921 and 1930-33. COLGATE-PALMOLIVE-PEET Co. h a s declared a dividend of 12.5 cents on t h e common stock, payable August 1 t o stock of record July 23, t h e first p a y m e n t on common stock since J a n u a r y 21, 1933. Sales h a v e shown consistent improvement a n d pre liminary estimates indicate better t h a n 75 cents a common share earned during t h e first six months. CROWN WILLAMETTE P A P E R C O .
F o r t h e fiscal y e a r ended
April 30, after depreciation, taxes, etc., and deduction of minority stockholders' interest in profits of Pacific Mills, L t d . , a Canadian subsidiary, net profit was §1,129,680, equivalent t o $5.65 a share o n first preferred stock. This contrasts w i t h a loss of $37,613 in t h e preceding fiscal year. T h e profit w a s m a d e because of increased volume of sales a n d higher prices of some paper prod ucts, in spite of a reduction i n price of newsprint p a p e r . NATIONAL L E A D C o . Sales for t h e first six months have been slightly higher t h a n for the same period i n 1933, and t h e company has shown a material improvement i n earnings. All branches of the company are showing a profit. U N I T E D CARBON C o . Preliminary indications a r e t h a t the earnings of the company for t h e second quarter will equal or ex ceed t h e n e t profit for the first quarter, which was m u c h in excess of t h e 1933 figures.
