THE THRESHOLD OF SPACE Edited by M. Zelikoff. New Yo&, 1957. xii 25 cm. $14.
Pergaman Press, 19 X
+ 342 pp.
AN IMPORTANT critici~mof the volume under review is that it is a waste of a good, glamorous title. We would all like t o be, at least intellectually, on the threshold of space. This hook won't help the ordinary scientist or college teacher get there. It is a oolleetion of the papers and the discussion a t s. conference of specidists an the physics and chemistry of the upper
atmosphere. A physical chemist who is well educated in the fields of chemical kinetics and spectroscopy will find this fascinating reading. Molecular oxygen and nitrogen are photodissociated into atoms by the far ultraviolet light of the upper atmosphere. NO is formed by several reactions, includingN 03-NO On, N 0%NO 0 . Electrons are produced by photoionization of NO and N2. Atoms are produced by dissociative recombination reactions such as NO+ e- + N 0. Atoms disappear by three body recombination reactions such a8 N 0 Nz NO N2. The lower the presrmre, the slower is the recombination; above about 75 kilometers, nitrogen and oxygen atoms created during the day may live all night before recombining.
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The measurement of the cross sections or rate constants ior all the significant reactions is a challenge to the laboratory experimenter. The theorist must consider the interplay of all these steps and predict the properties of the atmosphere. The rocket scientist devises experiments to directly ohserve these properties. For example, by n suitable choice of s filling gas (xylene) and a window (sapphire) one can build a Geiger counter which 6s sensitive otly t o radiation between 1425A. and 1500 A. This is a region of strong absorption by 0.. By determining the amount of radiation as a. function of altitude, one can determine the vertical distribution of OSmolecules. I n a similar experiment with a counter sensitive to soft X-rays (which are evidently emitted by the sun), the total density of the atmosphere as a function of altitude is determined. The two sets of data can he used to calculate the degree of dissociation, 0% 20, a t different altitudes. In still more spectacular experiments, the rocket probers have ejected several kilograms of sodium or nitric oxide into the upper atmosphere. Photoionieation of the latter, for example, caused perceptible ionosphere disturbsnces; the sky lights up due to radiative recomhination rcaetion, NO 0 NO2 hv (one nates in passing, that the rate eonstant for this reaction is not accurately known!) Here then is an account of an exciting new field of reaeareh. But the college chemistry teacher is still waiting for a. coherent, simpleaccount that will enable him to appreciate the field and transmit something of it,sexcitement t o his students.
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NORMAN DAVIDSON C A L I ~ O ~ NI N I AB T I T ~OFETECXNOLOOT P*s*oen*, c*,.rranar*
ORGANIC ELECTRODE PROCESSES Milton I. Allen, Director of the Physical Research Laboratories, CIBA Pharmaceutical Products, Inc., Summit, New Jersey. Reinhold Publishing Carp., New York, 1958. xi? 174 pp. 15.5 X 23 cm. $6.50,
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THE laat hook to be published in the field of electroorganic chemistry was written by Fichter over 25 years ago. The time therefore is certainly ripe for the appearance of another hook in which this much neglected field of chemistry is reviewed, and Dr. Allen merits our appreciation for filling in the gap m+th a wellorganized and aell-written account af existing knowledge of electrwxganic preparative procedures. Reaction mechanisms are discussed only occasiondly, prabahly hecause they have been little studied a t the electrodes commonly used in electro-preparative ~ o r k . Where mechanisms are discussed, they are based on organic structural evidence, not on physical chemistry. The modem electronic theory of organic chemistry is employed as an aid t o interpretation only in t a o or three places in the book. The first chapter is an exceptionally clear exposition of the roles played in (Continued on page A666) IOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
electrolysis by electrode potential, electrode material, nature of the medium, concentration of depolariser, agitation, and time. This chapter is followed by another which gives det,ailed consideration t o the instrumentabion and techniques of eleetrol,ysis. Three chapters on cathodic reductions follow and bhen three more an anodic oxidations of organic compounds grouped in the conventional manner. The last of these chapters deals with the vew interesting subject of substitution reactions brought about anodically, including the supreme achieve ment electroorganic preparative chemistry, the industrially important fluorination of organic compounds.
Therc in very little adverse criticism of tho hook which could be made. There is the u ~ n s l prinkl ling of typographicnl errors to be found in the first printings of most books (the literature reference, "Trans. Amer. elektrochem. Soe." is perhaps north a. smile) and the reviewer would quarrel with certain definitions. He also feels that certain of the theoretical d i e cussions are a hit archaic. But these criticisms are trivial. Unquestionably the major ohjeetive of the book is the practical one of discussing the techniques and over-all results of the eleetralysis of organic compounds. This ohjeetive has been admirably achieved. Furthermore, the book has been written in such a way that the alert reader will be ntimulated by a vivid realization of the many unanswered questions with which this field of chemistry
abounds. Dr. .4llen appropriately closes the book with a quotation from Winston Churchill: "This is not the end. I t is not wen the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the m d of the beginning." A. EDWARD R E Y I C K w*,-v= ST*"'= ua,rens,.n,D r l ~ n a l >~ l, r c ~ r o * r
BIOCHEMISTRY Abraham Cantarow, Professor of Biochemistry, and Bernard Schepartz, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry, Jefferson Medical College. Second edition. W. B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, 1957. xxviii 867 pp. 151 figs. 77 tables. 16 X 24 cm. $12.
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THE new edition of this textbook, appearing three years after the first, has heen revised t o reflect the recent advances in various areas of biochemistry. No major changes have been made in the siee or the presentation of the subject matter. However, some modifications have been introduced, e.g., the adoption of the Haworth formulation of carbohydrates in place of the projection formulation, abbreviation of the discussions on the m e tabalism of individual amino acids by the use of schematic illnstrations, and the addition of new data and structures to several chapters. The excellent subject index (80 pages) was further expanded in the second edition t o extend its usefulness as a source of biachen~icalinformation. The b o o k is lucid, condensed, and easily rcad. I t is mitten primarily to meet the needs of the first year medical student and i t adequately achieves this aim. In the belief that the medical student in his preclinical study years is not in s. position to appreciate the significance of clinical biochemistry, the authors intentionally avoided the discussion of biochemical abnormalities in disease. I t is the reviewer's opinion, however, that indicating the present and potential medical applications of biochemistry to the student arouses his interest in the subject. A brief and simple discussion of the common metabolic diseases, at the appropriate places in the text, would have been a helpful contribution toward this aim. I t is an admitted fact that failing t o inform the medical student of the significance of hiochrmist,ry to his professionsl training leavw him ~ i t little h ent,husiasm for this field of st,udy, which is often, to him, hard t o grasp. For the sake of hrevity, the authors condensed a large bulk of biochemical subjert matter, as known today, without reference to its historical development. Although they have done n fino job in giving a. concise, up-to-date presentation, such an approach has its limitations. Using the historical harkground in discussing some topics u-odd have provided the student with a better understanding of the nature and development of the scientific endeavor, not only as a means of acquiring facts, but also ss a powerful tool for fighting the plagues of humanity.
( C o n h u e d on page A.584) JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
