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LITERATURE New Soviet Lit Survey NSF e x p l o r e s the " w h a t " and "where" of Soviet scientific information
For t h e first t i m e , kilocurie quantities of long-lived radioactive fission p r o d u c t s are available for y o u r development work. T h e new Fission P r o d u c t s Pilot tory m a k e s it possible to distribute these isotopes at greatly-reduced prices: • • θ • •
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As t h e nation's principal supplier of isotopes, t h e L a b o r a t o r y offers more than 300 radioactive a n d stable isotope products. Requests are invited for i n formation concerning c o m p o u n d s for source fabrication. Oxides, fluorides, chlorides, and plate sources are avail able. W h a t e v e r your needs, we are ready t o help you. W r i t e t o : Isotopes Division, Oak Ridge N a t i o n a l Labora tory, P . O . B o x X , Oak R i d g e , Tennessee.
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O O V I E T scientific literature lias become increasingly available in tbe U. S. since 1956, says the National Science Foun dation in a new survey of U.S.S.R. publications. Of the more than 2000 technical journals and serials issued by t h e Soviets, it finds, 76 are now trans lated into English, compared to about 3 6 in 1956. NSF's survey lists details on the 76 journals, including translators, trans lated volumes, sponsors, and subscrip tion rates. It shows that 21 of them are in engineering and technology; 12 in physics; nine each in chemistry, biol ogy, and medicine; seven in the earth sciences; three in math; a n d two each in agriculture, astronomy, and the so cial sciences. Besides the translations, N S F ana lyzes other primary sources of Soviet technical information—books, journals, bulletins—and secondary publications such as abstracting services, review journals, and annotated bibliographies. Tables in the survey give data on these secondary reference materials. T h e r e is also a list of U. S. dealers who handle Soviet publications. N S F says recent conferences at tended by Soviet scientists indicate that thev are well informed on research developments outside the U.S.S.R. Their All-Union Institute of Scientific and Technical Information issues ab stracts of most of the papers in some 1800 Soviet journals and 12,000 nonSoviet ones. And its Express Informa tion Service covers 36 fields of engineer ing and technology. This consists of summaries of foreign articles, translated and distributed within three months after original publication. But, N S F adds, the institute has also accumulated some literature problems. It has released only a few subject in dexes to its volumes of abstracts and is now trying to mechanize the index ing process. According to A. I. Mikhailov, director of the institute, exper
iments on the subject index of its chem istry series are now under way. These include use of punched cards a n d com puter techniques, with current opinion running in favor of the punched cards. They are more reliable, the Soviets be lieve. N S F will furnish copies of "Provid ing U. S. Scientists with Soviet Scien tific Information" on request. Address the foundation, 1951 Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington 25, D. C.
modern Chemical Theory T h e high regard in which "Chemical Constitution" has been held since it a p peared in 1953 will be further enhanced by the careful revision which it has un dergone in this new edition. This book contains a systematic ac count of the structural and chemical properties of matter (both organic and inorganic) developed from t h e stand point of modern theoretical chemistry. Subject matter is treated in five chapters dealing with ( 1 ) the periodic system of the elements, ( 2 ) the ionic b o n d , ( 3 ) the atomic (covalent) bond, ( 4 ) t h e metallic bond, and ( 5 ) Van d e r Waals bonding. T h e approach is essentially chemical and, while mathematical d e scriptions are not infrequently intro duced, the treatment is for the most part qualitative. The extensive cover age and the rich assortment of illustra tive material are remarkable in view of the book's modest size. While not drastically altered, the new edition incorporates a n u m b e r of important revisions. N e w material has been a d d e d throughout the book to bring the treatment of most topics a n d the tables of data up to date. The lit erature coverage has been extended to 1957 (in a few instances 1958) a n d the number of references very greatly increased, thereby rectifying one of the weaknesses of the first edition. A n u m ber of new topics—e.g., q u a d r u p o l e coupling constants; metal-cyelopentadienyl complexes; color of inorganic compounds—have been added and cer tain sections completely rewritten. Noteworthy among these is t h e treat ment of hydrogen bonding.
In a tew places more ilriLStk- revisions would have been in order. Tims, whik· a brief account of the crystal field theory has been a d d e d , it fails to con vey the profound significance of recent developments in this field xvhic-h, in the reviewer's opinion, arc such as to have warranted a complete revision of the treatment of coordination compounds and hydration. Perhaps a n even more serious shortcoming is the· very minor role assigned to the molecular orbital theory and its applications. /V brief ac count of the theory is given b u t the in terpretation of chemical "bonding and structure throughout the l>ook is almost exclusively in terms of the* ideas of the valence bond theory. M a n y readers will not share the uiithoi*\s somewhat extreme position in this regard, re flected in the following statement ( p a g e 3 0 6 ) : "At present t h e M.O. method (with refinements) is used throughout for reliable quantitative cal culations. In the interpretation of the results, one operates, however, with concepts such as bond order and free valency which actually correspond to ideas of the V.B. m e t h o d . Again for qualitative interpretations t h e V.B. method is generally used as has often been the case in this book.. O n e calcu lates by the M . O . m e t h o d b u t speaks the V.B. language!" Despite these shortcomings this is an excellent book which -the reviewer wholeheartedly recommends, not only to those primarily interested in chem ical theory, b u t also to organic and in organic chemists seeking: a lucid and enlightened account of modern ideas of chemical bonding and constitution. Chemical Constitution. ELAAR.
2 n d Ed.
J. A. A. K E T -
D. \ 7 an
Nostrand,
120 Alexander St., Princeton, N . J. 1958. $8.95. Reviewed by Jack Halpern, University of British Co lumbia.
► Polymer Newsiefter is the name of a periodical being issued "bimonthly by Chemical Marketing & Research Co., 10 East 39th St., N e w York 16, NT. Y. Each number contains a report based on a recent CM&R study. Bate is $10 a year. ► Journal of Molecular Biology is be ing published by Academic Press, Ltd., London, and Academic Press, Inc., N e w York. Volume I, N u m b e r 1 came out in April. It will be published six times a year. Subscription rate: $ 1 4 .
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