The concluding chapter, Electroehemical Processes, covers both conduction and electromotive force. The hook is outstanding for its concise nesa and freedom from error. It is the feeling of the reviewer that the style, level of presentation and range of topics make this text especially worthy of consideration for a junior or even sophomore level course far students taking another chemistry course simultaneously and having calculus and general physics ss prerequisites. Superior advanced undergraduates, no doubt, would find i t less stimulatine than texts that stress the more
and molecular structure may he its greatest weakness especially for curricula that do not include a course in atomic or modern physics. It is definitely not a text in "mathematical chemistry," but the attention paid t o mathematics is adequate. The author is to be cangratulated for a realistic and workmanlike job of discussing a rather traditional selection of material in an effective manner.
W. H. HALL Bowling Green State University Bowling Gem, Ohio
Physical Chemistry
Eric Hutchinson, Stanford University, Stanford, California. W. B. Saunders 647 pp. Ca., Philadelphia, 1962. x Figs. and tables. 17.5 X 25.5 cm.
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$10.
Another very good entry has been added to the rather rapidly growing field of undergraduate physical chemistry tenthooks. This hook follows the trend, evident in several other recent hooks covering this area, of using a rigorous and sophisticated approach to the subject matter. Particularly noteworthy in this respect is the chapter on liquid solutions in which quantitative development of topics is used to a much greater extent than one is accustomed t o find in undergraduate treatment of solutions. The author does not lose sight of the value of descriptive and interpretive approaches, and prudently intermingles these with the mathematical parts. Furthermore, the experimental side of physical chemistry is presented with detailed descriptions of experimental measurements of many important parameters. Thermodynamics and its application to gases, liquids, solutions, heterogeneous systems, and electrochemical phenomena comprises the bulk of the material in the first half of the hook. Chemical kinetics, atomic and molecular structure, solid state, macromolecules as well as a larger than usual port,ion of colloid and surface chemistry are covered in the latter part of t,he book. The last ehaoter is a brief hut usdul introdurtim t < , t ~ 1 i r t i cmerh.irurs. d S ~ t d l l yb l ~ e r . ~ ain t the i,rmk is a n y twntmcnt i d tlterrnc,ct~t.!ntistn.. S u d w r d w u istry is also not treated.
52
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Journal of Chemical Education
An undergraduate physical chemistry textbook is, by necessity, an abridgement of the important developments of classical and modern physico-chemical research. This reviewer feels, however, that the omission of certain topics, such as thermochemistry, is unfortunate. In the chapter on the shape and size of molecules no mention is made of the important contributions of NMR to this srea. The difference between path-dependent functions and point functions is another topic, well worth mentioning, which is excluded. The virtual absence of references in this hook accents these omissions. The problems a t the end of each chapter are good and, in certain instances, quite challenging. An instructor's guide is furnished; i t gives answers to problems m d the method of solution for some. Several of the sets have many problems taken from the literature, an important factor in ~ravidinga sense of reality for the person attempting them. Very few example problems are worked out in the text. This will likely create difficulties for an average student, for the gap betwcen some of thwabstract sections of the text and the problema is wide indeed. The illustrations and figures are done with precision and clarity throughout this work. They complement the material in the tentvery well. Errors in the hook are infrequent. Care should be exercised, as with any other hook, in taking d l equations a t face value. Far example, the kinetic theory i s an apformulaon page 49 far n ~ > ~ . only proximation as one can see by integration of the equation preceding i t in the text. The a.pproximation voiced by this equation is valid for Eo>>nRB (note also the omission of no from the numerator of the equation and the omission of the subscript from the E's). This equation may confuse some users of the hook because its approximate nature is overlooked. This is s. hook well worth an examin* tion by a. teacher of physical chemistry. Despite some omissions and a few uneven spots, itis avery good textbook.
treatment the courae begins with a study of quantum mechanics, molecular structure, etc., and then develops and rationalizes macroscopic physical chemistry on the basis of the mirroscopic properties of matter. As one of the first American texts t o use this %on-classical" approach this book is most welcome. The hook starts with a discussion of the structure of crystals and then follow ehapters on atomic and subatomic particles, wave theory and its application t o quantum mechanics, vibrational and rotational energy levels in molecules, electronic states in atoms, and basic valence theory. After this, the classical subjects of thermadynamics, chemical and physical equilihrium, activity concepts, and electrochemistry are treated. Finally the book closes with a discussion of kinetics, catalysis, and photochemistry. The organization of the hook is good with subjects following in a logical and very "presentable" order. The only exception that this reviewer would make is that statistical mechanics should he treated in a separate chapter instead of being divided between Chapters 7 and 9. This hook has the advantages of the %an-classical approach" in that macroscopic properties of matter can be related to molecular and atomic properties without the background digressions necessary in the "classical" approach. Further, the undergraduate is quickly brought to the point where he can read modern phydieal chemical research results with some understanding. Strong points in the hook that merit special mention are: the inclusion in Chapter 1 of s section on vector analysis, the treatment of the harmonic oscillator and the descriptian of vibration-rotation spectra, the discussion of the properties of condensed phases, and the treatment of chemical kinetics. The greatest weakness of the hook is in its approach t o quantum meehrtnics. The author develops quantum mechanics from wave theory, that is, the quantum mechani d wave function for a hound article is
MORLEYRUSSELL Michigan State Universitg East Lansing
Physical Chemistry George H. Duffeg, South Dakota State College, Broakings. McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., New York, 1962. x 527 pp. Figs. and tables. 16 X 23.5 em. $5.75.
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It is inevitable that the next few years will see much discussion by teachers of undergraduate physical chemistry about how this course should be taught. The "classicd" approach t o this subject has usually begun with thermodynamics and other macroscopic properties of matter and has treated quantum mechanics, molecular structure, spectroscopy, and s t a t i s t i d mechanics a t the end of the course as time Mare recently, however, permitted. physical chemists have been experimenting with a %on-classical" approach. I n this
A better approach might he the postula tional approach in which the fundamental ideas of quantum mechanics are introduced as a series of postulates. Analogies can still be drawn fmm wave theory, hut conceptually difficult discussions like the treatment of selection rules in rotation and vibration spectra in Chapter 4 could he avoided. In the absence of a lot of explanatory materid in lecture, this reviewer feels that the averaee undereradu-
I n summary, this reviewer feels that this hook would make a good, hut difficult, text in an undergraduate physical chemistry course for instructor8 who want t o exoeriment with the %on-clessicd" ao-
(Continued on page A64)
BOOK REVIEWS course itself. Tho hook would also he valuable 8s a text for the second half of n "elassicd" course in physical chemistry. Chapters 1-6, a discussion of statistical mechanics and kinetic theory and Chapters 16-19 on kinetics would make a ggod second s ~ m e s t e physical r chemistry course. MELVINW. HANNA Unioerszty of Colorado Rodder
Atomic-Absorption Spectrophotometry
W. T . Elwell and . I A. . F. Gidleg, both of I . C. I. Metals Division, Birmingham, England. MacMillan Co., New York,
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1962. vii 102 pp. Figs. and tnhlrs. 14.5 X 22 cm. $5. Atomic-absorption spectroscrqv wae developed by M'alsh in 1955 and rapidly became a sensitive method for the analysis of many metals in solution, particularly for certain samples not readily analyzed by methods of emission spectrometry. I n this hook the authors present a brief summary of the t,henry which is concerned with the intensity of spectral lines, the absorption coefficient of ahsorption lines broadened due t o the Ihppler effect and the need lorn. sharp line source. The equipment is described in x general manner,no details are given of vaporizers or burners required for handling the snmple; however, t,he design and production of a hollow-rathode lamp is given. I n the chapter h e d e d General Consideration there is some discussion of t,he factors influencing the atomization of the liquid and the voletilization of the "clotlrts" fnrmedin the flame. A list is given of 30 elements which can he determined, 10 of which receive 8p~ciaI treatment in the remaining 50 pages of the text, with articular emphasis on zinc, lead, and ma~nesium for which d ~ t a i l e dprocedures are outlined. The hook is a reasonably goad introduction t o the subject hut some recent journal articles have done almost as well. An extensive bibliography is given, useful for those who need t o know experimental dctnila t h a t arelackingin this text. THOMAS TIE VRIES Purdue TJniversilg I,afayetle, Indiana
Elementary Introduction to Molecular Speelra
R $ q e Bak, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. 2nd ed. North-Holland Publishing Co., Amstordam, 1962 (distributed h y Interscience Publishers, Inc., New York). xi 144 pp. Figs. and tables. 16 X 23 cm. $6.
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The first edition of the little hook h y B. Bak, professor of molecolsr spectroscopy at the University of Copenhagen, was reviewed in THIS JOURNAL, 32,222 (1955). This second, revised odit,ion consists
(Cmtinued on peg? A56)
A54
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Journol o f Chemical Education
