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NEW BOOKS Radioactivily Applied to Chemistry. Edited by ARTHCRC. WAHLA N D NORMAN A. BONNER. Other contributors: John W . Barnes, Warren H . Burgus, Chas. E. Crompton, Clifford 8 . Garner, Milton Kahn, Victor J. Linnebom, John A. Miskel, Arlo E. Myers, Reni J. l’restwood, and Jui H. Wang. 604 pp. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1951. Price: $7.50.
This work under its moderately descriptive title is a n unusual combination of text, treatise, and handbook. It is the cooperative production of some of the chemists who worked on this atomic project in the United States during and since World War 11. Part I contains ten chapters devoted t o the xpodern aapects of the applications of radioactivity t o chemistry, such as isotopic eschange, kinetics, structures, self-diffusion, analysis, carrier-free tracers, discovery and study of the newer elements, hot-atom chemistry, and surfare determination. One of the most comprehensive chapters, entitled “Behavior of Carrier-Free Tracers,” includes a wide variety of applications in quite different fields, e.g., coprecipitation, adsorption, isomorphous replacements, deposition on ionic precipitation and on ion-exchange resins, radiocolloids, solvent extraction, vaporization, distribution of radon between air and liquids, oxidation-reduction, electrolytic deposition, diffusion and electrical migration, and extrapolation from tracer t o micro behavior. The chapter entitled “Emanation Method” describes interesting studies in a field that has been largely developed in Europe, although the term “emanating power” was first introduced by Boltwood (not by Otto Hahn). I t s use to study diffusian in solids and the influence of changes in the solid state presents many angles of interest. Port I1 contains eighteen tables of data pertaining t o some of the topics discussed in Part I , and six appendices of properties or uses. An alphabetically arranged bibliography of authors and literature references when used in connection with the subject index with reference t o the text is fairly satisfactory, but there is no way of finding the work of a given author in the text unless his subject is known and indexed. I n other words, such a bibliography, immensely valuable as a source of literature references, is a one-way street, from text t o author, but lacking in reverse facility. This is a minor criticism of an otherwise splendid index. I n future editions it may become advisable t o divide the test and the tables under two separate covers, although the present nrrangement is more convenient for the volume of subject matter here presented. S. C. LIND
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Thermodynamics of Irreversible Processes. By S. R . DE GROOT.xvi 242 pp. New York: Interscience Publishers, Inc., 1951. Price: $4.00. Traditionally, thermodynamics has been almost wholly restricted t o a study of systems in equilibrium and, with regard t o irreversible processes, has done little mpre than t o give their direction and t o establish t h a t , in an isolated system, they are associated with an increase in entropy. In recent years, a number of authors have proposed that the name ‘‘%hermostatics” be used instead of the traditional “thermodynamics” and that the meaning of the latter term be expanded t o include all processes, reversible or irreversible, in which transformations of energy arc involved. One must admit that, the suggested prqcedure is logical, even if one’s feelings are a-ounded by such a change in established usage. The following quotation from the preface of Dr. de Groot’s book will be useful: “During the last ten years a macroscopic theory of irreversible procewes has been developed into a more or less complete system. This theory is based on a double foundation formed by considerations which were put forward already before the systematic theory was formulated. In the first place the introduction of non.equilibrium thermodynamical functions gave rise t o the setting up of a n entropy balance equation in which the notions of entropy BOW and of entropy production occur. I n the second place the theory is rooted in the Onsager reciprocal relations, macroscopic equalities, which are founded on the property of microscopic reversibility. “From thia double basis a theory can be constructed for which the name ‘thermodynam-
