ing, we follow the ore through its highly mechanized course t o the blast furnace. Shaft mining is also described in connection with coal for the production of coke for iron smelting. The manufacture of wrought iron by the venerable puddling process and the more recent "Aston" process is considered in some detail. Following these, we learn about cast irons. malleableiron, and the various and sundry steels. The operation of the Bessemer converter, the open-hearth and electric furnaces are vividly presented. The final chapter of this group deals largely with alloy steels and includes an interesting bit of economic history-the introduction of chrome-vanadium steel into the manufacture of lighter and stronger automobiles by Henry Ford. A fine description of the effect of the more important alloying elements on the properties of iron concludes this chapter. Following the story of iron, the author introduces us t o the most recent and lightest of all commercial metals, aluminum-the metal from common clay-which defied all attempts to persuade i t t o leave its humble birthplace until induced to do so, almost simultaneously by two young men-Hall and Heroult. Then comes copper, with an interesting description of the important contributions of Paul Revere t o its metallurgy. Now follows b r a s s u s e d by King Solomon in his t e m p l e t h e n ancient and honorable bronze, usually associated with statuary but possessing a multitude of uses. I n order follow nickel, the metal so di5cult t o isolate that i t was named after "Old Nick"; "bluish-white" zinc; "slow-solid" lead; tin-the whitestof m e t a l s " t h e Greeks called i t H e r m e s yet we ungraciously heave our tin cans.. .into ugly dumps"; aristocratic gold-the metal for which men die; and now silverthe most beautiful of metals-used in enormous quantities for coinage in the most densely populated countries on e a r t h a n d so important t o photography and the movies. Finally, platinum and its 6rst c o u s i n s t h e elements of the chemists: palladium, iridium, rhodium, osmium, and ruthenium concludes this most interesting work. This book should be especially stimulating t o the layman and t o beginners in chemistry as it makes a strong appeal t o the romantic and imaginative side of chemistry and cannot fail t o promote an appreciation of the problems that have confronted the chemists and the manner in which they have been solved. For the chemist, its value lies chiefly in the cloak of glamour in which the author envelops many grimy processes that seem drab and dull through long association. I n brief, the book might be considered a glorification of metallurw. and r i ~ h t l vdeserved a t that.
intelligible view of an enormous amount of experimental work within the compass of a volume of moderate size. Professor Sidgwick is so well known that i t is needless to say that he has done his work with characteristic thoroughness and remarkable breadth of information. One of the most impressive features of the book is the great variety of evidence which is brought t o bear on such difficult problems as the details of molecular structure. Professor Sidgwick's alertness in appropriating the experimental results yielded by the newer physical methods should be an insniration to manv of the vouneer eeneration. Therc arc a few minor rrrurswli.hicllwillheohvious to the rradvr. I n x iew in.tar.cw one m:ly bc dijpvsrd to di93pre~with P r ~ f r ~ s o r SiJ-ick's viee,s-fur examplc, the assumed ?co\olmce of hydrogen, or the use of sharp changes in properties in a series of compounds as a proof of a change from ionic t o covalent linkage. These are still debatable subjects, however, and one can only admire the ingenuity and fairness of the author in his arguments. The subjects treated in the book have been so largely developed in the past few years that the great accumulation of valuable results is well known only to those who have followed the work closely. For that reason this summary will prove highly valuable to teachers, as well as to chemists generally. UNIWRSITY OF B m ~ m G. H. CARTLEDGE BuatiU.0. Nsw YosK
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INORGANIC COLLOIDCHEMISTRY. VOL. I. THE C H E ~ C A L ELEMENTS.Harry Boycr Weiscr, Rice Institute. Houston,
Texas. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. New York City, 1933. xi 389 pp. $4.50 net. This is the &st volume of a series dealing with inorganic colloid chemistry to be written by Dr. Weiser. The colloidal elements have been studied and written up in scattered places but never before has a unified presentation been offered. General methods of preparation are followed by separate divisions on metals and non-metals in colloidal farm. Theory and practice are both well taught. It is right that a considerable section on catalysts is included for contact catalysis is a surface matter. The reviewer particularly enjoyed the excellent section on activated carbon and its use as an adsorbent. The author's own notable work on colloidal sulfur again attracts attention but, for that matter, the entire volume is most interesting t o a colloid chemist. Other chemists will 6nd i t useful as a reference book, and very easily read. Dr. Weiser deserves our thanks for a splendid work already well begun. We predict a cordial reception for the volumes to follow. The chapters are: Colloidal Gold, Colloidal Silver, Copper and Mercury, Non-noble Metals of the First and Second Groups, SOME PHYsrcAL PROPERTIES OP THE COVALENT LINK IN CAEMIS- Metals of the Third t o Seventh Group, Metals of the Eighth TRY. The George Fisher Baker Non-Resident Lectureship in Group, Adsorption of Gases by Metals, Colloidal Metals as Chemistry a t Cornell University. Nevil Vincent Sidgwick, Contact Catalysts, Colloidal Carbon, Sulfur. Selenium and Fellow of Lincoln College and University Reader in Chemistry, Tellurium, Iodine. Oxford. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New Y a k , 1933. O a e n ~ mCOLLBGE H ~ R N. Y HOLMES 249 . on. 0 ~ s a L . r Oslo ~. . . 15.5 .X. 23.5 em. S2.00. I n this book Professor Sidgwick has presented the basis of the POPULAR SCIENCE TALKS. VOL.X. I w r Grifith, editor. Publectures which he eave a t Carnell Universitv in 1931. The sublished by the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, jcct matter has ~ C L I I brought down to a more recent date, howunder the auspices of the American Journal of Pharmacy, cvrr, hy the irwlusion of prrtincnt researcher that wcrc published Philadelphia, Pa.. 1933. 307 pp. 15 X 23 cm. $1.00. up to the summer of 1932, with a feu- of w e n Inter datc. ' T h e The tenth volume of this well-known series contains: bookisanattempt to setout themethodsof measurement of some of the more important properties of non-ionized links, and to "Triumphs of Medicine," by Wilner Krwen discuss the results so far obtained.'' After an introductory "The History and Romance of Bread," by Charles H . L a W d lecture on "The Relation of Physics t o Chemistry" the chapters "Photons and Electrons," by George Rosengavfan are: Atomic Cohesion; Electrovalence and Covalence: Dimen- "The Modern Arsenic Hazard." by J . W . Sturmn sions of Covalent Links; Heats of Formation of Covalent Links; "Yeast-In Welfare and Industry," by Arno Viehoever Electrical Dipole Moments; and Stereochemistry. "Aqua Philadelphica," by Ivor Grifith Under each subject the available experimental weapons are "Useful Milk Products and Milk Preparations," by Louis presented in sufficient detail t o show their value and limitations, Gershenfeld but without exhaustive description. Professor Sidgwick shows "Gold-A King and a Savant," by Freeman P . Stroup excellent discrimination in this respect. The accounts are "Insect Friends and Foes," by Marin S. Dunn accompanied throughout with copious references t o the original "ColloidsA Stam about Particles." bv - Arthur Osol literature: the chanter on diode moments. for examole. has over "Vitamins." bv ~ & z t i C. o Wood. ~ r . 140 footnotes, nearly all of which are literature citations. By "copperL~&'s First Useful ~ e t a l , "by C. C. Pines this means the author has been able to present a correlated and "Manufactured Ice Cream." by David Wilbur Horn ~~
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