BOOK REVIEWS It should be useful to prepare students for examinations, hut it would certainly not give them the ideal background to embark upon research activities in the general area of quantum chemistry. Several features of this monograph which have been mentioned make it less soitable as s. textbook for classroom use. J. DE HEER University of Colorado Boulder
Inlemclionr in Elsrtrolyle Solutions: Metal Complex and Ion-Pair Formation in Solution
George H. Nancollas, State University of New York a t Buffalo. American Elsevier Publishing Co., Inc., New York, 1966. Topics in Inorganic and General Chemistry, Monograph No. 8. x 214 pp. Figs. and tables. 14.5 X 22 em. $14.50.
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This book presents a brief survey of metal-complex and ion-pair formation in aqueous solutions. The principal emphasis is an association constants for complexes and ion pairs containing one metal ion and one ligsnd (other than the solvent). These are examined with respect to the methods by which the association constants may be determined and the information which can he extracted from the values obtained. There is also a brief discussion of the rates of such association reactions which deals principally with very rapid reactions of this type. The presentation is a t the senior-first year graduate level, and the emphasis is on commentary rather than detailed derivations. A satisfactorily comprehensive eollection of literatore citations is given for the reader who desires more det,ailed information on the topics covered. Because of this, the hook should prove useful in the preparation of lectures on the topics it covers. thoueh it is desiened to be a mano-
water, with an emphasis on the important mle the structure of the solvent plays in detailed interpretations. The second chapter covers many of the experimental methods which have been used to determine association constants. It should prove useful to those who are beginning s. study of a particular system and need some assistance to seleot a suitable method from among the many available. Chapter 3 discusses methods for correcting association constants for the ionic strength of the medium and methods of computing such constants, from experimental data, for systems which contain one or two complexes. Chapter 4 covers the relstionships between association constants and other parameters such as radius of the ions involved, and the number of eleetrons in inner d and f orbitala. I t presents a very clear discussion of the problems involved in distinguishing ion pairs (outer sphere) from complexes of the more traditional sort (inner sphere).
Chapter 5 contains a very compact description of t,he thermodynamic properties for ionic hydrates and for complexes with simple and polydentate ligands. The data for chelsting agents and the treatment of the chelate effect are both reasonably detailed. The final chapter (Chap. 6) deals briefly with the rates and mechanisms involved in the farmstion of labile complexes. Here the emphasis is on the results obtained from the study of very fast reactions. At the end of the hook are to be found (1) s. 13-page summary of thermodynamic data on ion-pairs and metal complexes (2) an author index
which covers the same general area. Nancollas provides primarily an introduction to the ezperimental methods used in the study of ion pairs and complexes, while Hunt's emphasis is more on the theories nsed to explain the results obtained. Far this reason, Nancollas' boak should he valuable reading for the fledgling experimentalists in this area.
data. Absent from this hook are the extensive tables of economic data found in wme of the more "encyclopedia type" pnbhcations of the past. The style is pleasing and the author demonstrates repeatedly an ability to present rather difficult topics in an interesting and learnable fashion. Michigan Technological Uniumsity Hovghlon
The Encyclopedia of Physics
Edited by Robert M. Besangm, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Reinhold Publishing Corp., New York, 1966. 832 pp. Figs. and tables. 18 xii X 26 cm. 825.
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This volume, one of a series of scientific and technical encyclopedias, contains 316 alphabetically arranged articles, written by as many subject specialists, which can introduce the reader to a great many different fields of physics. MARKM. JONES As stated in the preface, no attempt has Vanderbilt University been made to have all the articles a t the Nashville, Tennessee same technical level. On the whole, the broad, general articles are pitched a t a somewhat lower level than are the more specialized articles. Introduction to the Chemical Process This reviewer was impressed by the Industries amount of material which the individual authors managed to crowd into their Richard M . Stephenson, University of articles without loss of clarity. I n addiConnecticut, Storm. Reinhold Publishtion to the text, the authors have provided 474 ing Corp., New York, 1966. v both hib1iagrs;phicd and cross references pp. Figs. and tables. $14.75. to follow their articles. The aothor of this book has fulfilled a Although this boak was probably deneed for a reference book or an undersiened with ~hvsicistsin mind.. its ereatest vrdw m a y I,P 11, n.urken iu 1d91~ll field* graduate textbook of reasonable size (and nla, i.ped 119 l w w ~ ~ron\w.i~nr w tiirh mme price) filled with up-to-date infomation
