Photochemistry and the Mechanism of Chemical Reactions (Rollefson

the first time in sn elementary textbook so far as the reviewer's knowledge goes, that the reaction is limited to the amides of acids having less than...
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the first time in s n elementary textbook so far as the reviewer's knowledge goes, that the reaction is limited to the amides of acids having less than five carbon atoms. So also it is indicated (page 296) that the reaction of nitrous acid with aliphatic plimary amines, as a method of replacing an amino group by a hydroxyl group, is subject t o certain limitations. The amount of material presented is, in fact, greater than could normally be covered in a two-semester course, especiallysince the instructor using this textbook will probably find it desirable t o amplify very considerably the somewhat sketchy and disconnected treatment of the theoretical aspects of the subject. However, in the matter of choosing between too muchand toolittle f a c t d c a n t e u t the author has wisely elected t o err in the direction of too much, and the final discretion is properly left with the individual instructor. WELDONG. BROWN

The authors appear t o have been unusually successful in 6nding a suitable compromise between the detailed treatment expected in a treatise and the clear-cut outlines necessary in a textbook. They have accomplished this by careful selection of the material included, by focussing attention on the present status of each problem, and by packing a large amount of valuable information into tables and graphs. The appendices add to the practical utility of the book; they include a table comparing the various notations for atomic energy states, tables of heats of reaction and bond strengths, a table of activation energies of simple reactions, and a chart far converting energy units. One feature worthy of special commendation is the treatment of photochemistry as a living, growing subject. No attempt has been made t o cover up the seamy side. "When doubt has been felt, it has been expressed. Throughout the book there have been T w Umvsasrru 0s C a r u o o emphasized not only the questions which photochemistry has Cmcnoo, ~ ~ ~ n i o r s answered but also the questions t o which i t must still provide an answer." And t o he convinced that there are still same unsnswered questions, one need only glance a t the discussion of the reUSESAND APPLICATIONS OP CHEMICAL AND RELATED MATER~ALS.action between hvdroeen . .. and oxveen. Thomas C. Grepry. Reinhold Publishing Corporation, New o he hook isattrartively hound and printed. In recommending 665pp. 14.5 X 23 cm. $10.00. York City, 1939. vi it very highly the revirwcr hopes that it may scrve to stimulate "Since 1922 there have been appearing in the pages of Oil, additional interwr in the complicnted and fundamental prohlcms Paint and Drug Reporter a series of surveys covering the uses. of reaction mechanisms and photochemistry. E. J. ROSENBAEU potential applications, and sales pmihilities of chemicals and Tae U ~ l w a s r nOF C n c ~ o o related raw materials. C ~ C * G OILLINOIS , "At first these surveys appeared under the title 'Where You Can Sell.' Subseauentlv the title was chaneed - t o 'Industrial Uses of chemicalsand ~ e k t e dMaterials.' E IN GENERALCHEMISTRY.Alexander "The early research was conducted by the late Ismar G i i - S E L E ~ N EXPERIMENTS Silverman, Sc.D., Head of the Department of Chemistry, burg; and since his death in 1933 has been continued and exUniversity of Pittsburgh, and Abraham L. Robinsa, Ph.D.. panded by Thomas C. Gregory, one of the editors of T m CONAssistant Professor of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh. DENSED C m m w DICTIONARYand a nationally known expert on D. Van Nostrand, New York City, 1939. ix 309 pp. 39 figs. chemical marketing. 25 X 28 cm. $2.50. "Recognizing the great permanent value of this information, These SELECTIVE E X P E R ~ Eare N~ designed to accompany the an arrangement was effected between the publishers of Oil, Paint and Druc Reborter and Reinhold Puhlishine Corooration freshman college course in general chemistry. I n addition to the whereby the materiil could he made available in book fo-rn after experiments found in the usual manual the followingare included: rearrangement, amplicatiou, and complete editing by Mr. T h e Quantitative Determination of Ba as BaSOh Determination of O1 in Air by Pyragallol. Deterinination of the Freezing Point Gregory. "In its present form it makes available t o sales executives, of Solutions, Quantitative Det'ermination of NHs in Ammonium research directors, manufactdrers, dealers, and all others in- Salts, Conductometric Titration, Faraday's Law by Electrolysis terested in the uses of chemical products. a mass of information of Copper Sulfate, Rate of Hydrolysis of Acetamid, Oxidation Reduction Titration, Electrolytic Preparation of Chlarates unavailable elsewhere and of tremendous practical value." and Hypachlorites, ConJact Process for Sulfuric Acid Using V ~ O Ias a Catalyst. Preparation of Guncotton, Preparation of Ethyl Alcohol, Reactions of V, Md,.-W, and U. The material CHEMICALREACTIONS. PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND THE M E U ~ ~ OSPM on the metallic elements is arranged according to periodic groupGerhrd K . Rollcfron, Ph.D., Associate pofessor of Chemistry, ine with the excention of Al. Sn. and Sb. and these are nlaced toUniversity of California, and Milton Burton. Ph.D., Instructor g&r. ~uslitaiiveanalysis isnor coo;idcred, althoudh qualitain Chemistry, New York University. Prentice-Hall, Inc., rive twts are given under the respective elements. The numher New York. 1939. xiv C 445 pp. 59 figs. 15 X 23 m. of quantitative experiments is w l l above that of the average $5.75. manual, and several require the recording of electrometric data. There h r been ~ ~ for some time a dearth of texts on photochemisA group of exercises is placed a t the end of each experiment. try written in English. I n the ten or eleven years since Kistia- About half of the pages of the book are report sheets where space kowsky wrote his monograph and Griffith and McKeown wrote is provided for a complete write up of the experiment. their textbook a great deal has been accomplished, and most of . A loose-leaf binding is used, and undoubtedly many of the this new material has been effectively inaccessible t o students. naees . .. will tear loose in actual use. Includine the reoort sheets The volume under review has been admirably designed t o fill in the same volume as the drrcriptive matcrlal subjects thcm to this gap. It is t o a high degree self-contained. If any ideas are lnbor~toryhazard$, and many of thcre must b~ in a soiled condineeded as a background t o the understanding of photochemical tion hefore the completion of the course. This also m o k r s the problems, they are presented in logical and succinct form. The book larger and more cumbersome than is warranted by the wide range of topics covered is indicated by the chapter titles, printed material. The Qnantum Theory of Spectra, Photoactivation and the PropThe number of experiments is sufficient so that the instructor erties of Photoactivated Molecules: I. Physical Effects, and may chwse those best suited for the class. T h e manual is thus 11. Chemical Effects, Reaction Kinetics, Photolysis in the Solid designed for both beginners and students who have had chemistry State, Photolysis of Vapors of Inorganic Compounds, Photolysis in hieh school. of Vapors of Carbon Compounds, Molecular Rearrangements, ~ G e ~ d ~ e c t i are o n sdear and the entire b w k is well written. Photosensitization, Typical Chain Reactions, Addition Reac- Illnstrations are plentiful, and the student should find no diffi: tions and Associated Phenomena. Polymerization, Effects in the culty inarranging his apparatus and carrying out the experiments. Liquid State, and Heterogeneous Reactions. This last chapter includes discussions on photographic processes and photosynthesis.

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