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NEW BOOKS
Phenomena, Atonis and Molecules. By IRVIXG LAXGMWIR. 436 pp. Sew York: The Philosophical Library, Inc., 15 East 40th Street, 1950. Price: $10.00. T o those who are acquainted with the work of Langmuir during the forty years since he joined the Research Laboratory of the General Electric Company, the present volume will bring a welcome opportunity of review. To young research men it will be an inspiration and a timelyintroduction t o some of the classical investigations of modern chemistry. Out of his publications, numbering more than two hundred, he has brought together twenty in eighteen well-arranged chapters broadly covering the fields in which he has pioneered,adsorption, surface phenomena, atomic hydrogen, high vacuum, electrical discharge, and the condensation and evaporation of molecules. Perhaps no scientist has exceeded Langmuir in the ability t o correlate fundamental research with the practical application of its results. His keen curiosity about nature and phenomena, his shrewd interpretation of their meaning, his power t o bend them to his will, have characterized all of Langmuir’s work, which he describes as “having fun.” The introduction and first three chapters of this book are devoted to general topics outside the stricter bounds of science. I n them Langmuir gives his philosophy of life and some consideration to current affairs, such as science legislation, the patent system, and control of the atomic bomb. I n a rather favorable analysis of Russian science and ideologies, he concludes that it was a grave mistake not to take Russia into early partnership in the atomic bomb researches. This omission, he says, alienated Russia and closed the iron door. Logical as his arguments may be, probably few Americans will agree, and many may violently disagree. Heends his chapter on “World Control of Atomic Energy” with the hopeful but admonitory sentence: “Persevering along the road toward world government with a spirit of fair play, we may in fact ultimately banish the scourge of war from the earth.” A bibliography is included which classifies all of his scientific papers under eight specific topics. S. C. LIND. Annual Review of Physical Chemistry. Vol. I. Editor, G. K. Rollefson; Associate Editor, R . E. Powell; Editorial Committee: H. Eyring, G. Glockler, W. F. Libby, J. W. Williams, E. B. Wilson, Jr. 17 reviews. 382 pp. Stanford, California: Annual Reviews, Inc., 1950. Price: $6.00. Volume I of this new series of annual reviews of physical chemistry is presented by an editor and editorial board that insures a future series that will be of inestimable value not only t o the field of physical chemistry, but t o chemistry, physics, and all the physical and biological sciences. It is superfluous t o say that physical chemistry now occupies a unique position of essentiality t o all the sciences. It is therefore of utmost importance that the availability and comprehension of its huge volume of research be aided by annual reviews of its more important and prolific fields. The first volume contains seventeen reviews by outstanding authorities in their respective subjects: “Heterogeneous Equilibria and Phase Diagrams,” by L. Brewer; “Solutions of Electrolytes,” by A. R. Gordon; “Solutions of Nonelectrolytes,” by J. H. Hildebrand and R . L. Scott; “Radioactivity and Nuclear Theory,” by W.F. Libby; “Radiation Chemistry,” by M. Burton; “Theories of Valence,” by H . C. Longuet-Higgins and G. W. Wheland; “Spectroscopy,” by B. L. Crawford, Jr., and D. E. Mann, “Statistical Mechanical Theory of Crystalline and Liquid State,” by J. E . Mayer; “Experimental Molecular Structure,” by J. Y.Beach; “X-Ray Structural Crystallography,” by J. L. Hoard and S. Geller; “Chemical Kinetics,” by F. Daniels;’ “Contact Catalysis and Surface Chemistry,” by H. S. Taylor; “Photochemistry,” by W. A. Noyes, Jr., and A. J. C. Nicholson; “Polarography,” by H. A. Laitinen; “Effect of Oxygen on the Physical and Chemical Properties of Polymers,” by H. F. Mark and R. B. Mesrobian; “Copolymerization,” by H. F. Mark and T. Alfrey, Jr.; and “Colloid Chemistry (Exclusive of High Polymers),” by H. B. Weiser. It is beyond the space here available or the competence of the reviewer t o make any detailed assessment of the excellence of the several chapters. Suffice it to say that a most satisfying
