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MARCH, 1951 0
PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY FOR PREMEDICAL STUDENTS
John Page Amsden, Professor of Chemistry, Dartmouth College. Second Edition. MeGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York, 1950. xi 317 pp. 54 figs. 38 tables. 16 X 23 cm. $4.25.
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THE first edition of this book [reviewed in THISJOURNAL, 23, 362 (July, 194611 appeared four years ago, designed as a text for a one-semester course primarily far students who hope to study medicine. In the new edition, the plan is much the same as in the old. The obvious changes are two in number: the addition of a chapter on thermodynamics, and a complete rewriting of certain material, formerly classed under a variety of headings, in a. single unified treatment of protolytic reactions. Otherwise, the principal changes involve omissions of some material whioh experience has shown to be of comparatively little value to the student, clarification of expression in several places, and correction of errors and misleading statements which appeared in the fimt edition. Answers to the problems at the ends of the chapters have been omitted from this edition. m e t h e r or not it is wise to attempt to introduce thermodynamics formally into s. course of this sort is a. matter of opinion. Certainly, very little time at best can be devoted to the subject in such a course, and the student will not usually have the mathem t i c a l background ordinarily considered necessary for this subject. Given these limitations, the treatment presented here is quite satisfactory. Since later chapters are written so that they can he understood even without this material, its inclusion does no harm rtnd will doubtless he helpful to those teachers who feel (as at least a few do) that some exposure to thermodynamics is desirable even in the brief course for which this book is intended. The other major change, in the treatment of protolysis, meets with this reviewer's hearty approval. In the earlier edition, as in many similar books, equilibria involving proton transfers were discussed under a variety of heads, such as ioniaation of week acids, weak bases, rtnd water, hydrolysis of salts, ete. Here the various reactions of this sort are considered under a. single heading. This unification becomes particularly helpful when quantitative aspects of the subject are discussed, because the various "constants" are clearly shown to be special cases of a single general principle. Unless the student has been thoroughly canfused by less enlightened teaching in his earlier courses he should he able to handle this important material without much difficulty when it is presented in this manner.
tabular summalies of methods, procedures, etc., sse among its most vdusble features. The hook is divided into six parts, devoted respectively to: gravimetrio apparatus and general microchemical techniques; microanalysis of organic compounds; volumetric analysis; colorimetrio analysis; electrochemical methods; gasometrio methods. It is probably too much t o expect a book of this kind to cover exheustively the many specialties in such a broad field, even with the combined efforts of five collaborittors. There are very few references to work published within the last five years, during which time there has been considerable progress in this field. One finds no mention, for example, of Kirk's many contributions to microchemical techniques, or the important developments in ion exchange separations, a. subject which is disposed of in half a page. Modern instruments are covered very imperfectly. No spectrophotometer is even mentioned, and one gets a very inadequate impression of the possibilities of photoelectric colorimeters, recording polarographs, and glass electrodes. The colorimetrio determination of pH prohably does not deserve to be disposed of quite so pessimistically. The authors have tried to limit their discussion to those methods which they have personally verified, and this is probably the reason why some methods seem to be aver-emphasized while others have been neglected. Nevertheless, the collection of such a wide variety of material, presumably evaluated critically, makes this a useful reference source, particularly for students of analytical chemistry. NORRIS W. R A K E S T R l W INBTITUTION 02. OCEIIOGRAPBT SCRIPPB L* .TOLL*, CALIFORNIA
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GAS PRODUCERS AND BLAST FURNACES
Wilhelm Gumz, Consultant, Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, Ohio. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1950. xii 316 pp. 14.5 X 22 cm. $7.
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T n ~ hook s is not a descriptive text on the types and methods of operation of gas producers and blast furnaces. Rather, it is an important contribution to the stoichiometry and thermadynamics of equipment in which solid fuels are gasified, whioh may be followed by subsequent reactions, ail in the blast furnace. Section I on gas producers oamprisea 172 pages, Section I1 on blast furnaces is 103 pages, Section 111 an reaction kinetics is 22 pages, and an appendix contains 11 pages of tabulated data. WILLIAM E. CADBURY. JR. Because of his European background Dr. Gums works entirely HAYERPORD COLGEOE in the metric system. The symbols sometimes used may be unH*vrarono, PENNBYLV*N,* familiar in American practice. As an examule of the fundamental nature of this hook. t,he -~eeond chap& deals with gas composition at equilibrium. MmODS OF QUANTITATIVE MICRO~KNKLYSIS 0 Methods are given to calculate equilibrium oomposition for single Edited by R. F. Milton, Consultant Analytical and Biochemist, reactions. This is then expanded for the general case of eight Welbeck Wav. .. London. and W. A. Waters. Feuow B a k d equations and unknowns, and methods of simplification for the College, Oxford; ~ni;ersity Lecturer in organic Chemistry, solution are given. This book will be useful to chemical engineers teaching stoiehiOxford University. Longmans, Green & Co., In=., New york, 1949. viii 599 pp. 169 figs. 21 tables. 15.5 x 23.5 cm, ometry or thermodynamics, or interested in gasification processes. $15. KENNETH A. KOBE
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C~NT~IBUT to~this R S volume include not only the editors but also G. Ingram, Microanalyst, Courtaulds' Fundamental Research Laboratories: J . T. Stock. Norwood Technical Institute: K. M. Wilson, ~hy&logical chemist, Ministry of Supply. The book should be reed in the lieht of the editors' obnervat.ion
the extremely valuable micro-analytical procedures have been developed by such extreme specialists that even the average professional analyst is not even now fullv conversant with them or aware of theiGwide potentialities." II is intended to supplement the standard works on analytical chemistry and to describe and review the application of standard analytical procedures to the microchemieal field. In this it is very successful and the frequent
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A U B F ~TEXAS .
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ANTIHISTAMINES: SURVEY
INDUSTRY AND PRODUCT
Nathan Wishnefsky. Chemonomics, Inc., New York, 1950. 157 pp. 15.5 X 23 cm. $5. Although many readers will think that the important part of this little book is the section dealime with antihistamines as cold remedies, the book goes far heyon2 that. The chemistry and biologicd significanceof histamine itself, as well as the properties, structure, and preparation of the many antihistamines, is covered in some detail.
