topic which dates only fmm 1962. The advantages of the laser beam are described, but the chapter will not be very useful ta someone trying to build a laser-excited soectroohotometer. In chanter 4. R. E. llcster has cor~rrihureda very i u t ~ w ~ t i l . ~ description of the rnensurmlmr of iritensities, their relation to the change in malecuIar polarizability during a vibration, and the efforts which have been made to describe these properties in terms of the n* ture of individual bonds. A fair backemund in molecular wectrosco~vand the
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BOOK
REVIEWS
Raman Spectroscopy Edited by H. A. Szynanski, Canisius College, Buffalo, New York. Plenum 255 pp. Press, New York, 1967. ix Figs. and tables. 15.5 X 23.5 om. $12.50.
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Until reeentlv. " ,about all that most rhemists knew about Raman spectroscopy was what they read in the few pageges devoted to the topic in books on vibrational spectroscopy or the determination of maleculsr structure. The students recognized that it is beloful to have Raman as well as infrared data, but he also noticed that relatively few Raman spectra were reported in the literature even by the moleculer spectroscopists. Suddenly things have changed. The observation of electronic Raman spectra as well as stimulated and resonance Ramen scattering has led to renewed interest in the theory of the scattering process. Instrumentation bas improved venr much, and high-resolution spectra of gases are now determined. Inorganic and sol~ltionchemists as well as biochemists have discovered that the Raman spectrophotometer is an exceedingly useful tool in their research. Unfortunately for the Americanstudent, the only modern, comprehensive text on this subject has been Brandmiiller and Moser's "Einfiihmng in die Ramanspektroskopie." On t,he basis of my own experience, most stndents are less than over~
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joyed with texts written in German even after they have successfully completed the graduate language examination. Consequently, there is a real need for a good book on Raman spectroscopy in English. Professor Syzmenski's contribution is the first in what promises to be a parade of monographs on this topic. While it is, unfortunately, not a comprehensive text as Brandmiiller and Moser's is, it should prove quite useful to students and research chemists interested in Raman soectma''npp. The book begins with a chapter hy 1.. A . Woodward which willacrvcasn g a d inrrcduction for bwlt, the advanced mdrwrntluate as well as the beginning graduate student. Unfortunately an appreciable amount of space is devoted to the cursory treatment of character tables and the symmetry species of normal modes typical of many beginning books on spectroscopy. J. R. Ferraro contributes a chapter on instrumentation and sampling techniques. The history of Raman measurements is outlined, and commercial English and American instruments are described. The usefulness of tbis and the following chapter is limited because of the very rapid advances in instrumentation. A reader interested in this material will do much b e t ter by writing to the manufsoturers for their current product literature. The sectian an solid srtmpling is, however, useful. Chapter 3 by J. A. Koningstein outlines the laser excitation of Raman spectra, a
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very good review of the application of Raman spectroscopy to the study of the structure of ionic melts. A detailed discussion (56 pages) of R w i a n and German research on the resonance Raman effect is given by J. Bebringer in chspter 6. The level of the treatment is even more advanced than that in cbapter 4. The baok ends witb a very readable chapter by D. E. Irish on Raman studies of the interaction of metal ions witb oxy-anions and halide ions and the dissociation of axy-acids in queons solutions. As is true for most books written by several authors, there is s certain amount of duplicstion from one chapter to the next. Typographical errors and inconsistencies are typical for a boak of this type. I t does seem unfortunate that no mention is made of the English trrtnslation [UCRL-TRANS526(L) (1961)l of Placzek's important work cited in chapters 1,4, and 6. R. STU~RT TOBIAS University of 2Minnesoto Minneapolis
A Different Approach to Thermodynamics W. F. LwEer, Northeastern University, Boston. Reinhold Publishing Cop., New York, 1967. xiv 162 pp. Figs. and tables. 15.5 X 23 cm. Paperbound. 52.95.
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-Reviewed
in this Issue
H. A. Szymanski, editor, Raman Spectroscopy
W. F. Luder, A Different Approach to Thermodynamics
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D. J. Carswell, Introduction to Nuclear Chemistry William A. Pryor, Free Radicals
L.N. Mulay, Magnetic Susceptibility J. E. Spice, Chemical Binding and Structure JeanJoseph Chmette, An Introduction to the Theory of Molecular Structure John H. Seeris1 and Wendell H. Powers, General Chemistry Charles E. Martimer, Chemistry:
A Conceptual Approach
Mikhail G. Zimmerman, Russian-English Trrtnslators Dictionmy: Scientificand Technical Usage
Guide to
Robert E. Schofield, editor, A Scientific Autobiography of Joseph Priestly (17331804)
K. C. P a g , The Design and Analysis of Scientific Experiments
700
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Journal of Chemical Education
I n his preface to tbis boak, the author states that its content is confined to elementary themodynamies, with special emohasis on the theme of spontaneous ohimical reactions. Its scope may be specifimlly indicated by a listing of the chapter headines: 1. Heat. Work. andEnerev: -, 2. Spontaneous Changes and Free Energy; 3. Free Energy and Chemical Equilibrium; 4. Solutions of Electrolytes; 5. Electmchemical Cells. Ample justification of the claim to "s different approach" is to be found especially in Dr. Luder's clear and original exposition, in the seeand chapter, of the concept of entropy and of the relationship between entropy and free energy. In the opinion of the reviewer, this treatment, wbich was first presented in an artiOF CREMICAL cle published in the JOURNAL EDUCATION, 21,265 (1944), is theone most likely, by far, to be meaningful to the beginning student of thermodynamics; and this fact alone would insure the book's nwfnlness. Dr. Luder's presentation of the entropy concept has one feature in common witb
