BOOK REVIEWS Although the copyright date of t,he second French edition is 1956, this t,ranslation, by virtue of revisions which ineorporate references as recent as 1962, does not suffer from the common failing of being out of date at the time of printing.
The Art and Science of Growing Crystals
Edited by J. J. Gilman, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1963. ix 493 pp. Figs. and tables. 18.5 X 26.5 cm. $20.
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Crystal growth by its nature is a difficult subject to treat in tLn orderly fashion. I t has a firm foundation in many areas of science. Yet it can also be considered an art, since it often depends on knowing or discovering the "right" recipe"rightU in the sense that it works. Both the title and the arrangement of this book recognize and maintain the balance between art and science. The book divides crystal growth into four areas covering vapor growth, preeipitation from liquids, solidification, and recryatdlllieation. Each section hegins with a theoretical discussion of the important parameters and peculiarities of the area by an authority in the field. This is followed by from one to six chaptern dealing with specific substances by soientists active in crystal growth. In the section on solidification, for instance, the general principles of growth from the melt are very well summarized by W. A. Tiller. Growth of low melting point elements which can he contzined in crucibles (including a brief list of conditions for various elements with cautionary notes) is treated by A. J. Goss. Growth of higher melting elements, generally requiring induction or electron bombardment heating is discussed by H. W. Schadler. Dr. Schadler also presents useful experimental details and a summary table of important cryatals grown to date. W. D. Lawaon and S. Nielsen discuss the particular problems that arise in growth of semiconducting compounds, especially the problems connected with maintaming stoichiometry when the vapor pressures of the reacting elements difier greatly. L. R. Weisberg gives more specific details on the growth of the 111-V semiconducting compounds. W. H. Bmer and W. G. Field heve contributed a section on both the classical flame Verneuil and the newer plasma Verneuil erystd ggrwth methods. Although solidification is the longest section in the hook, covering as it does the section of the field in which the most advances have been d e in the "semiconductor decade," the other sections are equally thorough. We see three classes of technical books published these days. Books which puhlish papers presented at a symposium (Continued on page A394)
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1 Chemical Education
BOOK REVIEWS tend to b e very uneven and repetitive, since the editor must generally accept whatever is offered by the hard pressed authors and the program, which is not designed to be a book. This type of hook can he very frustrating to the general reader, since often the authors repeat each other, some authors may speak on disconnected subjects, and the articles are out of date before the book is published. A hook written by one author ought to be able to avoid the above pitialls, hut will necessarily have a more constricted viewpoint and may suffer from a sn~sllerreserve of personal direct experience. The present hook falls in a third class, an edited hook wherein the editor is allowed to choose his format and then try to find competent authors to fit the overall scheme. This method will still suffer from
example, is discussed in two separate c h a p ters using almost identical diagrams and pictures but different symbols. However, such a book is much more useful than eollected papers, and this one in particular is a good example of a, well edited book. We have been using i t as a text in an informal gathering of our crystal growing section and have found i t extremely useful. I recommend i t for anyone interested in the techniques and trials of crystal growth. T x o x a s B. REED Lincoln Laboralow Massachusetts Instilule of ~ e e h n o l o i Lezingtm, Massachuseils Electron Probe Microanmlysis I,. 5. Birks, U. S. Naval Research Labamtory, Washington, D. C. Chemical Analysis Series, Volume 17. Interscience Pohlisl~ers (a division of John Wiley and Sons, Inc.), New 1-orb, 10R3. 253 pp. Figs. and tables. 16 X ix 23.5 cm. $9.25.
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In the early 1950's, soon after R. Castaing and A. Guinier showed its feasibility, several workers in different laburat,ories constructed electron probe devices. In these instruments a finely focused beam of electrons was directed onto a, specimen, thus generating an X-ray spectrum from a amall portion of the material only a few microns in extent. Analyzing the X-rays with a spectrometer one-couid det,er&e the chemical composition of a local region whose volume was only a few cubic microns. By 1956 sufficient interest had been aroused by this method of chemirsl analysis that such instruments were being manufactured commercially. Since then the number of electron probe inst,ruments in use has grown to several hundred, and the number of workers using this t,echnique has similarly increased. This hook, which explains the theory and practical aspects of electron probe microanalysis, is the first treatment of t,his subject in hook form. The appearance of this book a t a time when the numher oi analysts is inrreasing is very (Continued on page A3961
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Chemical Education
