book reviews
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information but modern electrochemical techniques such as ac polarography are not included. The introduction to optical methods seems good, but there is little information on deviations from Beer's Law. There is verv little of infrared theory, i.e., what motion oimolecules cause absorption. The section on instrumentation is excellent. The atomic ahsorption treatment is generally good, although no equations showing the fraction of excited atoms to ground state atoms are given. The chapter on emission spectroscopy includes flame emission and this results in a rather brief treatment of flame methods, althoueh the ehsoter is eenerallv excellent. The chapter i,n nmr n light on thewy as ucll as inpcctm. It is mterestlng ro now that much better treatments of nmr are t o be found in organic tents such as Morrison and Boyd. The chromatography section is also light on theory and examples. The newly added mass snectra is eenerallv. eood but aeain there is little infcmnatim that wcndd show a atudent h w ma.* spectroscopy cracking patterns nmr a b m t The nutumntir nnnlysir chapter i:. d'intrrert and is well dune. In gmt.ml,thisisir well wriltrn text but it is hampered by the fact that theauthor treata a number of subjecb (as discussed above) tw lightly. This would lead the serious instructor to supplement the teat with added information.
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up to date. For example the chapter on anproperties rn~singand luwering uperators, matrix representation, vector coupling, and projection operators. Elsewhere one finds interspersed among the classic examples lucid applications invol;ing such topics Fourier t&nsforms, Poission brackets, uncertainty, the virial theorem. Condon-Slater rules. Hiickel t h e m,.. \,an dcr Waals forces, larers, tunnelmg, group theory. I? nmr spectroscopy, the Born npproximation, as well as numerous others. The closely detailed documentation (each problem is referenced) reveals that most of the standard textbook derivations have been included as well as many original problems and examples from the literature that are within the masoof thestudent. For examole. . . m thr rhaprrr on hydrogen.l~keatomz.ju~irnnl rrfcrrnrrsare given for an npplrcntion of Srhrodi,~gcr's fartoriratiun technrque for solving one-dimensional problems, a relativistic correction calculation, and a development of the two-dimensional hydrogen atom paradox. Although i t is conceivable that Problems and Solutions could be used as a textbook, its most useful application would be as a supplement workbmk similar to, say, a Schsum's Outline, providing alternative derivations and prartwe. In thm sense Johnwn and I'rdrrscn's bvuk fills an importnnr void and h w l d b e a must wtlrcmcsddit~mtothe l i brary of teacher and student alike.
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Dan McLaughiin UniversilyofNew Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131
Donald G. Davis University of New Orleans New Orleans. Louisiana 70122
i'roblems and $olutlons in Quantum Chemistry and Physlcs Natural and Synthetic Polymers Charles S. Johnson and Lee G.Pedersen, University of North Carolina. AddisonWesley Publishing Company, 1974. Figs. and tables. 21 X 28 cm. & +432 pp. $8.50 (paper text edition) Students in Quantum Chemistry classes are frequently warned that there are only two kinds of problems they will encounter in the course--trivial or impossible. Evidence for this frustrating situation may be found in the large number of otherwise excellent quantum textbooks whose authors have elected t o include no exercises a t all. The book bv John.s#mand Pedcrsen btterr B r r ~ ~ l u t m IOnhoth renrhcrs and students by pruvidma a supplemental paperback containing 280 examples followed immediately by detailed salutions and 139 supplementary exercises provided with final answers only. This carefully written book is divided into 12 chanter t o ~ i c sand desiened to he selfn.ntaitwd in the sense01 inrludmgshorr rxp.,qitor) intmduruons ro csc h chapter, and ten extensive appendices on mathematical topics. Of course some facility with baekground subjects such as calculus, mechanics, and electricity and magnetism is assumed. The subject matter is quite modern, including entire c h a ~ t e r son formalism. the electronic
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A346 / Journal of Chemical Education
Henry I. Bolker, MeGill University. Mareel Dekker, Inc., New York, 1974. xiv 688 pp. Figs. and tables. 16.5 X 23.5 cm. $29.75 and $19.57 (texthook).
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In hm "Xntural and Synthet~cI'olymen" Bdker hni pn,duced a m ~ v dand often enp c m g entrant :ntu the field of intmductory polymer chemistry texts. True t o its title, the hook embraces the broad perspective of polymer science and gives almost as much attention to polymers of natural origin as to those produced synthetically. From some other viewp~inb,however, the coverage encompasses considerably less ground. The physical chemistry of macromolecules is, with few exceptions, left for the reader t o glean from other sources. The properties of polymers in solution are not seriously addressed, and there is little svstematie discussion of the
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polymeric materials and on their roles in technology and nature. Thus, considerable space is devoted t o the organic chemistry of polymer synthesis and to discussions of the natural source and function of the biopolymers. In eeneral. chemical and macromolec-
