chemistry and statistical thermodynamics become part of the accepted undergraduate curriculum, we may hope that books like this one of Kittel's will find a place in the graduate program.
BOOK Quantum Theory of Solids
C . Killel, Berkeley. New York, and tables.
University of California, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1963. xi 435 pp. Figs. 15.5 X 23.5 em. $13.50.
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This is an advanced monograph and textbook primarily intended for a one-year specialized graduate course in a. physics department. I t assumes that the student is already familiar with material given in a standard introductory textbook such as the "Introduction to Solid State Physics" by the same author. The book also presupposes a one-year course in quantum mechanics. Thus, the level of difficulty is beyond the range of a typical graduate student in physical chemistry. The book is written with all the skill and precision which one has come to associate with the author. One could hardly improve upon his own words to describe its scope: "The duality of waves and particles is the dominant concept of modern physics. In crystals there are many fields which combine wave and pmticle aspects. Names have been given to the quantized unit of energy in these fields. Exactly as the word phlan describes the particle aspect of the electromagnetic field in a vacuum, the words phanon, magnon, plasmon, polaron, and exciton describe several of the quantized fields in crystals. Phonons are associated with elastic excite tionpacoustie phonons correspond to ordinary elastic waves. Mtlgnans are the elementary excitations of the system of
-Reviewed
W. J. MOORE Indiana Universily Rloomington
REVIEWS electron spins coupled together by exchange interactions. Plasmons are the collective coulombic excitations of the electron gas in metals. Excitam me neutral particles associated with the dielectric polarization field; and polarom are charged particles associated with the polariaation field, usually in ionic crystals.. . Much of this book is concerned with these particles-their quantization, their suectra. and their interactions. The
.
particle fields." Despite the expository skill of the author, few of our chemistry graduate students will have the courage and the ability to study this book. Nevertheless, it is recommended that university chemistry libraries obtain a copy, so that the adventurous few may be encouraged. The mathematical development is frequently interspersed with cogent descrip tive paragraphs, and the book is well indexed. It will thus have considerable value as a reference and glossary even for those who cannot follow all the details. Perusal of this hook sueeests that we
from new interdisciplinary programs in
chemical physics, in which theoretical physicists will preaent modern concepts and methods to desegregated classes of chemists and physicists. As quantum
in This Issue
C . Kittel, Quantum Theory of Solids J . H. Gittus, Uranium R. S. Bradley, editor, High Pressure Physics and Chemistry. Volume 1 James L. Sommeruille, editor, The Isotope Index: 1963-1964 Van Nostrand's International Encyclopedia of Chemical Science Dean F. Martin, and Barbara Ma~tin,Coordination Compounds F . Seel, Atomic Structure and Chemical Banding. Translated by N. N. Greawood and H . P . Sladler E. A . 1'. Ebsworth, Volatile Silicon Compounds Gerhart Jander, Hans Spandau, and C. C. Addison, editors, Chemistry in Nonaqueous Ionising Solvents. Volume 4, Chemistry in Lower Fatty Acids and Derivatives
W . E. Clason, editor, Lexicon of International and National Units F. M. Dean, Naturally Occurring Oxygen Ring Compounds Doug!ms J . Wilde, Optimum Seeking Methods Peter B r m and George Burder Stratton, editors, World List of Soientifie Periodicals Published in the Years 1900-1960. Volume 1, A-E Otla Zekert, Carl Wilhelm Scheele: Apotheker, Chemiker, Entdecker
Uranium
J . H . Gittus. Metallurgy of the Rarer Metals Series, No. 8. Butterworth, Inc., Washington, D. C., 1963. xiii 623 pp. Figs. and tables. 15 X 22 em.
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$24.75.
This series of books is edited by Dr. H. M. Finniston, formerly of the Atomic Energy Research Establishment a t Harwell, and now, Director, C. A. Parsons & Company, Ltd. The series was formerly published by Academic Press, but the present volume hears the imprint of Butterworths. The previous volumes have been: "Chromium," by A. H. Sully (1954); "Zirconium," by G. L. Miller (1954, 1957); "Manganese," by A. S. Sully (1955); "Titanium," by A. D. and M. K. McQuillan (1956); "Molybdenum," by L. Northcott (1956); "Tantalum and Niobium," by G. L. Miller (1959); and "Beryllium," by G. E. Darwin and J. H. Buddery (1959). We may expect additional titles in this excellent series, which has been very successful from the viewpoint of the research scientist because of the care that has gone into the preparation of each and the thorough coverage of the literature. Unfortunately, the subject matter relating to these selected elements is being generated so rapidly that s. book that is ten years old is already in need of revision. The present volume on uranium msinbins the high quality of its predecessors. To quote the author, the purpose of the book is "to permit and facilitate the design of power-producing nuclear reactors." This point is emphasized by the inclusion of a list of all the existing and planned reactors in the world as an appendix, requiring thirteen pages of fine print. If the book has been the initial volume of the series in 1954, it would have been deficient because most of the contents were then classified. After the publication of the proceedings of the two Geneva conferences, in 1955 and 1958, and the declassification of a vast number of "atomic energy" documents, it is not surprising to see that most of the numerous references are to these sources. The date of the latest reference is 1962. As would be inferred from the title of the series, the contents of this book are related primarily to mining, ore concentration, production of pure metal and of alloys, and to physical and mechanical properties. Only the chemistry pertinent to production processes is covered adequately; leaching of ores, ion-exchange extraction. solvent extraction. nitric acid
pages are devoted to metallography, in-
cluding electron microrrcopy. A surprising
516 / Journal o f Chemical Education
