RBCBNT R O O K S THEORYOF X-RAYD ~ F R A C T I OI NN CRYSTALS William H Zachariesen, Associate Professor of Physics. University of Chicago. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., Xew York, 1945. vii 255 pp. 30 figs. 21 tables. 14 X 22 cm. $4 00. Most properties of substances depend primarily on the kinds of atoms they contain and their relative arrangements in space. The most powerful technique known for deducing these arrangements is that of X-ray diffraction. By this technique it is now possible to arrive a t t h e atomic distributions in crystalline compounds of great complexity and also to learn a considerable amount about these arrangements in partially crystalline and poorly crystalline materials. The book under review is written for research workers in this field. As might be expected, the theory of the interaction between X-rays and crystals is far from simple, especially when crystal imperfections and temperature effects are considered. A thorough, consistent, well-ordered, andclearly written treatment of thesuhiect..such as that now " eiveu us hv Professor Zachariasen. is very welcome to those of us who are in this line of work. We owe him and the publishers-who have also done a difficult jab well-a big debt of gratitude. The presentation is necessarily mathematical. The book is not suitable for use as a textbook, nor is it one t o be picked up f q light reading by anyone only casually interested in the subject. The price is very moderate. MAURICEL. HUGGINS
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molecular theory, reaction velocity, chemical equilibria, and a picture of the nucleus from the physicist's viewpoint. The repetitive method of driving home theories by an ever increasing quantitative picture is very well done throughout the text. Perhaps the most notable contrast between this hook and some other current ones is that the author uses the LowryBronsted concepts of acids and bases and sticks to them. I t cannot be said that the theory used here is 20 years behind current thought as is so often said about chemical textbooks. Less than 20 per cent of the space is devoted t o metallurgy and the descriptive chemistry of the metals. This is less space than was given to the same topics in seven of eight recent inorganic textbooks investigated. Adequate chapters on the colloidal state and organic compounds are included and the illustrations throughout are well selected.
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KODAI(R B S B I R C R LABORATORIES ROCRBSTBR.
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ORGANICSYNTHESES. Volumes 22 and 23. Lee Irvin Smith, Editor-in-Chief. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York. Volume 22, 1942. v 114 pp. 15 X 23.5 em. $1.75. 124 pp. 15 X 23.5 cm. $1.75. Volume 23, 1943. iii Volumes 22 and 23 of Organic Syntheses describe methods of preparing 34 and 39 organic compounds, respectively. The form used in describing each preparation is unchanged from that of previous volumes in the series, giving in each case the reaction involved, the experimental procedure, explanatory notes on various steps in the procedure, and finally a short resume of other methods of preparation. The usefulness of this well-known seri& in furnishing, to research workers, teachers, and students, clear and workable directions for the preparation of organic compounds is too well known for Volumes 22 and 23 to warrant particular comment, other than t o state t h a t i t will be necessary to purchase them separstely because of the recent publication of Collective Volume 2 of the series which contains Annual Volumes X to XIX. M. F. ROY
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BROWN UNIVBXSITY PIQYIDBNCB, R R O D B ISL*ND
GENERAL CHEMISTRY.John A r r a d Timm. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York, 1944. xii 692 pp. 15 X 22.5 cm. $3.75. The reviewer chanced t o open Professor Timm's text to page 324 when he first obtained the book and upon reading that page was not anxious to lay it aside thereafter. On this page is reproduced a part of a n address by Arrhenius before the Chicago Section of the American Chemical Society describing the reception of his theory of ionization. The author seems to have added just the right amount of historical background and stories about chemists t o make the text fascinating, both to interested freshmen and inorganic chemists. Anyone who knows Professor Timm can almost hear him speaking through the pages of his book to his class. This conversational style may not appeal t o staid minds but students will rightly enjoy it. More space and content is devoted t o the gradual quantitative development of theories in this book than in most elementary texts. I n fact there are a number of topics treated (not exhaustively, of course), which are often left t o quantitative anzlysis or physical chemistry, e. g., solubility products, kinetic-
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ON PHOTOCRAPW WITH THE PHOTOMICROGRAPHY: A HANDBOOK MICROSCOPE.Fourteenth Edition. Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York. 1944. 174 pp. Illustrated. 14.5 X 21.5 m. $2.00. The fourteenth edition of this valuable book continues the progressive improvement evident through the previous editions. The reviewer's chief criticism is that the style is too "tight" and the information too compressed. The reader may have to study some sections rather carefully, especially if he has little grounding in microscopy or photography, hut the advanced worker will find the discussions excellent, in thwry and scope as well as in detail. Emphasis is properly placed upon photagraphy rather than on microscopy, hut the examples and applications are on the whole well selected, and the treatment of the optics of illumination is sound. The discussion of the characteristics of light sources in relation to filters and to direct color processes is particularly good, although it gives the impression that more refinements are necessary than many successful users of color film ordinarily employ. This section of the book is strongly recommended to all workers who are concerned with the photomicrography of colored objects. More stress might have been laid upon particle-size studies of pigments, as embodying requirements of illumination, contrast, and resolution more exacting than those of biological specimens. The bibliography appears rather sketchy, particularly as regards imaortant iaurnal articles.
GERMAN-ENGLISHDICTIONARYOR METALLURGY.T. E. R. Singer, Formerly in Charge. Chemistry Reading Room, New York Public Library. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York, 1945. in 298 pp. 12.5 X 18 cm. $4.00. The user of this admwahlc little book rnmt reco~n17.e a t once thar it is only oneof scvcral tools char he murt h a w in t r a n h t i n g 3 technic.itl article from German Into I
