a great deal of training. not alone in mathematics, hut in its application t o chemical problems. he will not be able t o follow many passages a t all. It may Progress of Rural Education 1925 and be argued, of course, that this is where 1926. KATHARINE M. COOK. Bureau the teacher comes in, but it is the opinion of Education. Bulletin, 1927. No. of the reviewer that any text should 15. 46pp. 15 X 23cm. $0.10. he self-explanatory. The mathematical Advance sheets from the Biennial treatment is not only good, but absoSurvey of Education in the United States. lutely necessary, in the development 1924-1926. of many topics, hut in an "elementary" Elementary Physical Chemistry. HUGH course the application of the mathematics S. TAYLOR,DSc. (Liverpool.) Pro- will have t o be explained. A ladder is fessor or Chemistry, Princeton Uni- the best means of getting into a tall tree, versity. First edition. D. Van Nos- but the end of the ladder needs t o be on trand Company, New York, 1927. ix the ground. The textbook in physical 531 pp. 108 figures. 10.3 X 17.3 chemistry has yet to be written in which the mathematical treatment begins where cm. $3.75 net. the student's training left off, or better. As stated in the preface, "the present where the student's ability ends. Mast volume attempts the presentation of material suitable for an introductory sophomore students have had algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and some calcucourse in modem physical chemistry. lus, but these same students have t o It is adapted from the two-volume 'Treatise of Physical Chemistry,' which be taught how t o use negative and fractional exponents, and when t o see appeared under the author's editorship the application of a quadratic equation, some three years ago." The author if not how t o solve one. And when. notes the prevailing custom of including in salving a quadratic, they get two much physical chemistry in our courses values, they do not see until they are in general chemistry, and believes that "physical chemistry ought t o reap the told that one value is probably impossible. W l l the average student even underadvantages of that development and is stand, withouf crplanetion, that we can therefore offered the possibility of subin place of (pp. 33. stituting for the descriptive, qualitative plot &Z course a more rigorous and, therefore, 34) without doing violence t o the truth' Why not tell him so? Let us use all more mathematical discipline." "Another more compelling reason for this the mathematics necessary, hut let us decision, however, is the modem trend in begin "an the ground." If we do not, physical chemistry. Any teacher who the mathematical explanations are absowould advise his students that he can lutely unreadable t o the average student; attain t o an understanding of the science and let us not forget that an "elementary" as now developing without the mathe- physical chemistry has t o be written matical knowledge required in the present for use of the "average student," not for the teacher. volume is, in the opinion of the author, I n spite of what has been said above, doing an ill service t o his pupils." The treatment of the subject matter the reviewer believes that much-indeed the present volume is heautiis very logical and forceful, and t o the most-f expert in physical chemistry will, no fully done. The chapter on "The Atomic Concept of Matter" is a fine thing, and doubt, be perfectly clear. There is, however, some question as t o the appro- the chapters an "The States of Aggregapriateness of the word "elementary" tion" and "Equilibrium" are equally in the title. Unless a student has had veil d ~ n e . The student, with proper Continuation Work; Vocational Tests; Foreign Countries; Bibliographies; Periodicals Indexed.
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previous training, should be able to get most of this material. The chapter on "Colloid Chemistry" is too much condensed to help the student very much. A great deal of this subject is still in the qualitative stage, and to treat it in mathematical terms only is like explaining a painting in terms of spectral analysis. W. H. CHAPIN Contemporary Developments in Chemistry. (A series of lectures.) Columbia University Press, New York City, 1927. 461 pp. 15 X 23 an. 1611.00. Those who were unable to attend the truly unique series of lectures on Contemporary Developments in Chemistry offered a t the 1926 summer session of l welcome the Columbia University d news that these lectures have been collected and are now available to the public in one volume. It is to be hoped that the price of the volume--necessarily high to cover the expense of a small edition-will not too greatly dampen the general enthusiasm. A reviewer would need unlimited space and colossal self-confidence to attempt critical comment on each lecture in turn. The reader's interests will be best served by appending a list of subjects and lecturers with the amount of space employed by each. It is evident that some subjects have been treated with much greater detail and thoroughness than others. This of course is one of the inevitable characteristics of such a collection and is not to be taken as a specific criticism of the present volume. The book is printed upon paper of excellent quality and is well bound. There is a general list of contents and each lecture has its own titie-page and table of contents and is separately paged. The list of contents follows: Synthetic Organic Chemistry in the Stndv of Odorous Com~ounds.Marston T. Bogert, 28 pp. F. Noms, Chemical Reactivity, James 13 PP. Chemical Relationships of Sugars, Op~
tically Active Amino Adds, Hydroxy Acids and Halogen Acids, Phoebus A. Levene, 26 PP., Reversible Oxidation-Reduction Reactions in Organic Systems, W. Mansfield Clark, 20 pp. Crystal Structure in Its Relation to Chemical Problems, Ralph W. G. Wyckoff, 19 pp. Catalysis and the Mechanism of Chemical Reactions, Hugh S. Taylor, 16 pp. Carbohydrates, Sir James Calquhonn Irvine, 28 pp. Oxidative Catalysis in the Body, Edward C. Kendall, 20 pp. Immunology as a Branch of Chemistry, H. Gideon Wells, 17 pp. Rare Gases of the Atmosphere, Richard B. Moore, 21 pp. Synthetic Organic Chemistry, E. Emmett Reid, 8 pp. Permeability and Electric Phenomena in Membranes, beonor Michaelis, 14 pp. Radicals as Chemical Individuals, Charles A. Kraus, 16 pp. The Iduence of Pressureupon Chemical Transformations, Emst Cohen, 12 pp. A Development in the Chemistry of Sanitation, John Arthur Wilson, 24 pp. The Direct Measurement of Osmotic Pressure, J. C. W. Frazer, 20 pp. Chemistry of Bacteria. Treat B. Tohnson, 14 pp. Contact Catalysis. Wilder D. Bancroft. 15 PP. Water-Soluble Vitamins, Elmer V. McCollum, 10 pp. Qnantitative Research in the Chemistry of Nutrition, Henry C. Sherman. 19 pp. Theory of Velocity of Ionic Reactions, J. N. Bronsted, 29 pp. Physico-Chemical Principles in ElectroMetallureical - Research. Colin G. Fink. 17 PP. Reactions in Liquid Ammonia, E. C. Franklin, 22 pp. , Ap-ricultural Chemistm. . .. Charles A. Browne, 17 pp. Completing the Periodic Table. B. S. Hopkins, 16 pp. 0. RBlNmnn
