APPL~UTIONS OF CHEMICALENGINEERINGEdited by H . McCormnck, Professor of Chemical Engineering, Armour Institute of Technology. D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc., New York City, 1940. x f 431 pp. 15 X 23 cm. $3.75. This text is a coiiperative effort of the editor and twelve coauthors. Their aim has been to collect and unify the best available material on laboratory experiments for eleven of the unit operations of chemical engineering and to produce a practical laboratory manual. The authors have selected experiments that can be performed satisfactorily with simple equipment in a single laboratory period and which tie in definitely with the theoretical presentation of that unit operation. The unit operations selected and the number of experiments for each are: measurement of temperature. 5 experiments; flow of fluids. 10; flow of heat, 6; evaporation and evaporators. 3; distillation, 6; drying of solids, 9; humidification and dehumidification, 3; gas absorption, 8 ; filtration, 6; classification and concentration of solids, 7; size reduction, 9. This book is more than a mere laboratory manual, as each unit operation is introduced by sufficient theory and discussion to develop the formulas and show the significance of the variables to be measured in the experiments performed. Each s p e r i ment is divided into object, equipment needed. procedure (with alternatives), data to be taken, and the report. Although the chapters are not uniform in this respect, most of them give sample data and calculations necessary for the report. Every chemical engineering instructor will desire a copy of this book, not only for the experiments he can use in his own course but also for the concise presentation of the operative theory given for each of tbe unit operations. Physical chemistry instructors will be interested in the chapters on measurement of temperature and distillation. KENNETH A. K o s e UNnrBRSrn OF W*SAINDTON
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WHATARE+HE VITAMINS?W . H . Eddy, Ph.D., Director, Good Housekeeping Bureau, Professor of Physiological'Chemistry, Teachers College, Columbia University. Reinhold Publishing Corp.. New York City, 1941. 247 pp. 15 figs. 15 X 23 cm 52.50. This book will be of great service to physicians, students of nutrition, and biochemists. I t is, perhaps, a little too substantial and detailed for the general public. All of the vitamins known or reported are judicially discussed, even vitamins H, J, and P. The historical treatment is generally thorough for a book of this size, although more could well have been written on vitamin A and carotene. Well-selected clinical reports and sound comments on them add considerably to the value of the book. Perhaps a stronger position on the optimum intake of vitamin C would have been advisable. The revi$wer believes that a 24hour urinary excretion of 4(t50 mg. of this vitamin indicates a highly desirable factor of safety. As might be expected from Dr. Eddy, the tables of vitamin values are excellent. This extremely valuable book is both readable and convincing. I t deserves a large sale. HARRY N. H ~ L M E S OBB%IN
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HANDBOOK OF CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS. C. D . Hodgman, MS., Associate Professor of Physics a t Case School of Applied Science, Editor; H. N.Holmes. Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry a t Oberlin College, Associate Editor. Twenty-fourth Edition. The Chemical Rubber Co., Cleveland, Ohio, 1940. xviii 2564 pp. 11.5 X 18 cm. 53.50. This twenty-fourth edition of a standard handbwk has all the usual chemical and physical data, and in addition has revisions and additions in the table of physical constants of organic compounds, the table of properties of commercial plastics, the list of physical constants of industrial organic compounds, a table of induced radioactivities, gravimetric factors and their logarithms (revised to correspond with recent changes in atomic weights), and minor changes t o bring the data up to date.
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SPECIFIC AND SPECIALR E A ~ I O NFOR S
USE IN QUALITATIVB ANALYSIS,Wrm PARTICULARREFERENCE TQ SPOT T e s r ANALYSIS.F. Feigl, Ph.D. Translated by R. E. Oerper, Ph.D., from a revision of the third German edition. First Edition. Nordemann Publishing Co., Inc., New York City, 1940. ix 4-192 pp. 15 X 23 cm. $3.50 Fritz Feigl is recognized as one of the pioneers in the development of the theory and use of complex compounds in analytical chemistry. Upon opening his "Qualitative Analysis by Spot Tests," this reviewer was keenly disappointed that the "Theoretical Part" had been omitted. The present text, so ably rendered into English by the translator, abundantly remedies this omission. . I n this text the author systematically and effectively presents a very large number of facts taken from his own work and that of others t o lay a foundation for the theory pertinent to the analytical applications, particularly of complex compounds. After dealing with the analytically important types of complex compounds, the following topics are considered: Masking; Enhancement of Reactivity; Effect of Certain Atomic Groupings on Specific and Selective Activity; Effect of Certain Groups upon Solubility; I d u e n c e of Weighting Effects on Solubility; Capillary Phenomena; Fluorescence Analysis. The increased availability which this outstanding text now has should have the very desirable effect of stimulating interest and research in an ever more imnortant field of chemistrv.
ANNUAL REVIEW O F BIOCHEMrSTRY, Volume IX. Jantes Murray Luck, Editor, and James H . C. Smilh, Associate Editor. Annual Reviews, Inc., Stanford University Post Office. California. 1940. ix 744 pp. 15 X 22.5 em. $5.00. Volume I X of the ANNUAL REVIEWOF BIOCHEMISTRY contains the following chapters: "Biological Oxidations and Reductions," K. G. Stern; "Proteolytic Enzymes," A. K. Balls; "Chemistry of the Carbohydrates and Glycosides," H. S. Ishell; "The Chemistry of the Acyclic Constituents of Natural Fats and Oils." J. A. B. Smith; "The Chemistry of the Lipins," E. Kirk; "The Chemistry of the Sterols," I M. Heilbron and E. R. H. Jones; "Chemistry of Amino Acidids and Proteins." D. I . Hitchcock; "The Chemistry and.Metabolism of the Compounds of Sulfur," G. Toennies; "Fat Metabolism," H. J. Channon; "Carbohydrate Metabolism," W. H. Chambers and S. B. Barker; "The Metabolism of Proteins and Amino Acids," H. B. Lewis and R. L. Garner; "Clinical Applications of Biochemistry," V. C. Myers and E. Mnntwyler; "Hormones," F. C. Kocb; "FatSoluble Vitamins," H. Dam; "The Water-Soluble Vitamins," S. Lepkovsky; "The Biochemistry-of M a l i n t Tissue;' E. C. Dodds and F. Dickens; "Plant Pigments." G. Mackinney; "Aspects of Inorganic Metabolism in Plants," C. B. Lipman; "Soil Microbiology," S. A. Waksman; "Organic Acids of Plants." H. B. Vickery and G. W. Pucher; "The Biochemistryof Viruses," W. M. Stanley; "Biochemistry of the Lower Fungi," H. Raistrick; "The Application of Microchemistry to Biochemical Analysis," P. L. Kirk; "Insect Biochemistry." R. Craig and W. M. Hoskins; "Application of Radioactive Indicators in Biology," .G. Hevesy; "Nonproteolytic Enzymes," H. Theorell. The volume also contains author and subject indexes.
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GARDENING WITHOUT SOIL. A . H. PhdliPs. Chemical Publishing Co., Inc., New York City, 1940. 137 pp. 8 figs. 13.5 X 22 cm. 52.00. This book describes practical methods of growing plants of any kind and variety, in tanks of water, or in beds of sand and other minerals, to which are added plant foods in chemical form. I t is written simply, yet gives complete technical data on every aspect of the problems involved. LA GRANDE INDUSTRIB DES ACIDESORGANIQUES.U ~ Y S SROW C and Albcrt Aubry. Duncd, 92, Rue Bonaparte, Paris. France, 1939. viii f 378 pp. 16.5 X 25 cm.
