BOOK REVIEWS cules," is much more qualitative and covers only the prrtctical uses of polymeric materials. The present book was written to fill the gap between Billmeyer's and Melville's books and concentrates on the chemistry and physical chemistry of polymers with little mention of applications. I t does not contain enough material for s. formal course in oolvmer chemistrv. " " , but would orovide s. substantial base for beginning self-educ* tion in the field. When a book is small, it is necessary to choose topics carefully and condense
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them skillfully if an undistorted view of the field i~ to be given. The author bas done a good job in this respect. No errors of fact and hardly any implied errors due to overcondensittion me found. In the early chapters there is some awkwardness in transition from one topic to mother, whieh is apparently due to the need for keeping the book within the desind size limits. However, this is not offensive and does not interfere seriously with the reader's progress. The ohoice of topios overed is intelligent, although one might wish that some of the balance of emphasis were different. For example, less space might have been spent an copolymerization, and more on the very interesting area of the morphology of
crystalline polymers.
This, however, is a
greatest advantage. The first two chapters, especially, need concentrated attention. The later chapters Bow more smoothly. The ones on inorganic polymers, properties of polymeric solutions and stereo conformations especially give a very good picture of these topics. Although I find little to disagree with in the presentation of the factual material, I do object to some of the philosophical implications. For example, on page 52 the statement appesm that it is not the function of the research chemist to be a prophet. On the contrary, it is one of the very important functions of the serious research chemist to be able to prophesy which lines of research will he most fruitful either in advancing theory and basic understanding or in application to practical problems. Again, on page 56, the familiar phrase "dictsted by theory" appears. I do not feel thst it is the role of theory to dictate. Rather, nsture dictates and the theory must conform as well as it can or be ruled insufficient. Same few specific criticisms may be made. There is a lack of definition in the early part of the discussion of graft oopolymerization which might have been eliminated by rearranging the msterial. The definition of radius of gyration could not be found. Finally, on page 72, the implication of the Fringed-Micelle theory of polymer crystallization presents s. picture which ia now losing favor and should a t least be qualified with a. mention of the more recent folded chain theory. There are minor errors in several of the figures with bonds being misplplsced. "The Nature and Chemistry of High Polymen" is a good first sttempt a t filling the vacancy referred to above. It is a useful addition to the literature on polymers and will be a helpful means of introducing a fascinating field to an alert senior. THOMAS FERINGTON W. R. Grace and Co.
Cla~.ksville,Maryland Symmetry in the Solid State
Robert S. Knoz and Albert Gold, University of Racbester, Rochester, New York. W. A. Benjamin, Inc., New York, 1964. xii 344 pp. Figs. m d tables. 16 X 23.5 em. Clothbound, $10; paperbound, $5.95,
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The increasing popularity of group theory has brought forth an abundance of books on the subject, and one's initial reaction to this book is wonder that yet another book on group theary applied to solids has been published. In addition it is evident, after a little reading, that this book has many peers on the market. The authors state in t,he preface that ihese are "introductory notes" which are intended to allow "the reader to be a t home with group theoretical concepts and language." I t is doubtful that the neophyte to group theory will ever feel this while using the book, since it is an attempt to print
(Continued a page A492)
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B O O K REVIEWS lecture notea without careful attention to the manner of presentation. Chapter 1 consists of a table of group theory definitions in a concise form. In fset Chapters 2-17 can be described only as "terse" also, since they cover in less than 166 pages matrix representation theory, application9 to quantum mechanics, continuous groups, double groups, permutation groups applied to wavefunctions, coupling of states, point groups, crystal fields, cyclic groups, Bravais lattices, phonons, excitans, magnons, space groups, time reversal, and the Jahu-Teller effect. The chapter on time reversal is an extreme example of compression. It is simply a statement of results and certl~inlycannot be used for instruction, but merely for reference after an adequate introduction to the subject such as given in "Group Theory and Quantum Mechanics" by M. Tinkham, "Group Theory and Its Applications to the Quantum Mechanics of Atomic Spectra" by E. Wigner, or "Group Theory" by M. Hamermesh. An additional instructional drawback is that no problems are given in any chapter. The second half of the book is devoted to reproduction of several published papers on the rtpplication of group theory to solids. Three papers which were originally in another language have been translated into English. Unfortunately, the authors did not take the time to correct
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the errors in some of the original papers. Examples of this are H. Jahn's representation of the time reversal operator by a matrix and the character table of the double group far the tetrahedron in the paper by W. Opechowski. The only reference to a correction is that for the paper entitled Character Tables for Two Space Groups by Conyers Herring, but that correction appears after a paper by R. J. Elliott, fifty pages later. It appears that this volume does not have the "clarity and soundness of treatment" which the editors of this series of books hopefully propound in the Foreword. The style of writing is not easy but is filled with parenthetical expressions. Several drawings and tables seem to be obtained from other texts. For both the novice and the expert, reference to any of the several other hooks on this subject such as those given above will be more helpful.
Pam DORAIN Brandeis University Waltham, Maasachzlsetts
Elementary Infrared Speeboscopy Clifton E. Meloan, Kansas State University, Manhattan. Maemillan Co., New York, 1963. vii I93 pp. Figs. and tables. 16 X 24 cm. $8.95.
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The purpose of this book is to explain to the uninitiated some of the fundamentals of btrumentstion as well as the
theory and the structural aspects of infrared spectroscopy. Approximately the first third of the book presents a very brief discussion of sources, cells, detectors and ~ptical components of infrared instruments. Its purpose, rather than being extensive, is to ~rasentsome basic ideas to the users of such in.ltruments, to arouse the curiosity of the reader and encourage further study from more detailed sources of information. The uext scotion is concerned with elementary theory of molecular vibrations and rotatiom and is presented in a. nonmathematical fashion. The purpose of this section is to give the reader same confidence in the understanding of the origin of infrered spectra. The third pert of the book deals with the interpretation of infrared spectra and the correletion of spectra with molecular structure. This exposition is necessarily limited to only a few functional groups 8s examples rather than wider coverage. Close study of this section would yield a aealth of information to the beginner and pave the way for more extensive study from more detailed books. This is the sort of book that a technician or a graduate student who has not had such a. course could study in a few evenings and obtain a. good deal of information. The book is well written and has excellent and profuse illustrations. The reviewer regrets that the book was not published as a paperback issue. ks such, it could be assigned along with four (Continued, a page A494)
