444
SEW BOOICS
played by the several atoms antl radicals in various reactions, the author expresses his opinions clearly and definitely, and maintains a nice balance in juclging the relative importance of theoretical and experimental evidence. While this book should be of real value t o all students of kinetics, i t is of special importance t o those interested in the kinetics of organic reactions. ROBERTLIVINGGTOS.
Physico-ChemicuZ Principles. Fourth edition. Volumes I and 11. By JOSEPH REILLY AND WILLIAM NORMAN RAE. 15 s 23 cin. Volume I : ix 610 pp. Volume 11: viii 585 pp. Illustrated. Xew Tork: D. Van Nostrand Company, 1041. Price: $17.50. The first edition of this treatise was published (in 1026) in a single volume of about 740 pages. The third edition, containing much new material, v a s presented in two volumes having a total of nearly 1300 pages. Though conscious of the danger of converting “ t h e work into an unwieldy encyclopedis,” the authors plan that the neivest (fourth) edition shall ultimately consist of three volumes, of which only the first i;wo are now in print. Most of the pages of Volumes I and I1 are reproductions of pages in the preceding version; many even bear the same page numbers. A large nuiril)er of minor changes antl additions have been made on pages interpolated lxtn.cen those bearing cardinal page numbers. Pages 288.1 and 288.2, for example, lie between 2SS and 259 of Volume 11. Chapter SI11 of the first volume, on “Rlolecular Properties”, has been omitted entirely, because t h a t subject is t o become a n important feature of the promised third volume. I n its presen.t form, Phusico-Chemical d l e l l i o d s is a valuable contribution t o chemistry. SOgreat was the task attempted that its very acco~nplishmentis a creditable achievement. Graduate students, tecliriicnl chemists, ancl research Jvorkcrs o\ve much t o RIessrs. Reilly and Rae for their continuing efforts in keeping these books available and up-to-date. In spite of the general escellence, hoivever, a reader seeking information on particular topics will often find the references and information incomplete. A reader seeking advice on the construction of a multiple-junction thermocouple or on t,he building of a precision calorimeter should be referred to the extensive work of Walter P. White and to a review of the calorimetric work of E. Lange, ,I. L. Robinson, and their coworkers. The readily available and incspensive\niercury arcs now available commercially should be tlescribed in the section on light sources. I n the brief discussion of chromatography there is no reference t o the book on t h a t subject by L. Zechmeister and L. Cholnoky, although it has recently been translated into English. The newer compact spectrographs and colorimeters should be mentioned and their limitations estimated, if possible. Potentiometers essential for so many physicochemical nieasurements deserve much more attention than is devoted to them, and the newer very satisfactory xvorking cells should be called to the attention of potentiometer users. Those who employ modern precision distillation equipment will be a p t t o lose some faith in a treatise xvhich does not include a n adequate description of such apparatus and a discussion of the results obtainable with t,hem. I n various chapters there are references to recent articles which contain results which blessrs. Reilly and Rae have not yet succeeded in working fully into their test. In the section (Volume I, Chapter 11,Section 2 ) on the determination of surface area they mention the work of P. H. Emmett, S. Brunauer, and E. Teller. Yet in the section (Volume 11, Chapter V, Section 2) on adsorption, the theory of those authors is not discussed. An adequate chspter on adsorption cannot be written without the benefit of the Emmett, Brunauer, and Teller isotherms. The most serious defects are the mistakes which can seriously misinform the reader. Some, of course, are t o be expected in n, work of such magnitude, but there are a number which have been repeated from edition to edition and should have been corrected. Probably the most numerous and serious errors are in the section on surface tension. The relatively recent papers on methods of measurement are well summarized, and clearly stated is the conclusion t h a t the surface-tension determinations of Ramsay and Shields (SO long accepted as standard) were nearly 4 per cent too low. Yet tho authors include a table
+
+
XEIV BOOKS
445
occupying a whole page and first printed in the 1926 edition, \rhicli is (escept for one or two unesplained blunders) in agreement with the thoroughly discrcditetl older measurenients and which disagrees with equatJionsgiven elsewhere in the treatise. On page 506 of Volume I they attempt t o discuss t,he effect of t h e stme error on the Eijtviis ccpation, but completely misunderstand the significance and effect of the error. The correct methods for calculation of surface tension from the lveiglits of carefully formed drops and from the inasimum pulls 011 rings have been inent#ioned. Yet, thc: test still contains stateiiients directly in conflict with 1he Imsic principles underlyiiig those methods. Since the relation between the pull on the ring and surface tension is kiiown t o be a function of the density arid the surface tension. of the liquid as well as of the dimensions of the ring, i t is not possible t o construct the direct-reading scale mentioned on page 527 of VoIuine I. This is especially important for interfacial-tension ineasurenients. For similar reasons it is not possible t o calculate surface tensions from drop tveights according t o the method described on page 815 of Volume 1. The method suggested by .J. I,. R . Morgan cannot give correct results because there is no single calculation factor. It is neither 3.8 nor 3.94; it is a variable, evelafor n single tip. Messrs. Reilly and Rae frankly state their inability t o master all of the subject8 included in their elaborate treatise. They have repeatedly requested t h a t readers inforin them of errors discovered as the books are used. The treatise now includes numerous sections contributed by specialists wlio have writt’en concise ant1 escellent espositions. The reviewer feels t h a t more cooperation is necessary. Every sect,ioii whose subject matter is not in .the realm of the reccnt and iminediate cxperience of the authors should be examined by a critical reader who is willing to coinplete and correct i t . If the ability of the authors t o select subject matter s i l d discuss i t clearly is adequately supplemented by the criticism of specialists in each subject, t,liis already admirable twatise will beconie a “standard work o n thc subject” such as the authors wish it to be. T. F. YOUNG. Hackh’s Chemical Dictionary. Third edition. Revised and edited by Julius Grant. 925 pp. Illustrated. Philadelphia and Toronto: The Blaltiston Company, 1946. Price: $8.50. Following the death of Ingo Hackh in 1938 the responsibility for the third edition has fallen to Dr. Grant, who has maintained the high standards set in the first two editions. Since thc work covers such a wide range of terms and principles not only of chemistry but t o some extent of physics, mineralogy, pharmacy, agriculture, biology, medicine, and engineering, i t is inevitable t h a t there should be some disagreement as t o statements and some inaccuracies which catch the eye of the specialist. And while there may be lacunae t h a t might R-ell be filled, one is more struck by the wealth of material, including many tabulations and elaborations of unusual relationships t h a t are compressed into one volume of less than 1000 pages. Also, t h e price has been kept commendably low in these days of inflation. The work can be highly commended. The omission of pronunciations in the present edition will not be unfavorably felt and was perhaps influenced by the otherwise commendable effort t o harmonize American and British usage. S. C. LINI).
Richter-Anschutz: T h e Chcmistrij of the Caibon Coijipoicnds. T‘olwne I I I . The Aromatic C o m p o u n d s . Third English edition, based upon the h e l f t h German edition. Translat8ion by A . J. NEE. sviii i 9 4 pp. New l’ork: Elsevier Publishing Company, 1946. Price: $15.00. This volume of the translation of Richter-hnschutz corresponds t o Volume 11, P a r t 2, of the German work, which was published in 1035. The translation was originally undertaken by Dr. T. W. J. Tavlor, \rho had planned t o revise the test as well. But Dr. Taylor, because of other duties in connection with the war, had t o abandon this work. It was then decided t o publish :I literal translation of the German work rather than t o incur the
+
