STATI~TICAL MECHANICS.J. E. Mayer and M. G. Mayer, Columbia University. First Edition. John Wiley and Sons.Inc.,NewYork City. 1940. xi 495pp. 28figs. 15 X 23 cm. $5.50. The first chapter of this hook gives a simple and well-written account of the elementary properties of a n ideal gas and serves t o illustrate the statistical method. Some of the subjects dealt with are the Maxwell-Boltzman distribution law, mean free path, viscosity, heat conduction. and diffusion. A summary of important equations of classical and quantum mechanics together with a discussion of the fundamental hypothesis of statistical mechanics is given in chapter two. This is followed by a development, in the next two chapters, of fundamental statistical equations and the laws of thermodynamics. The early introduction of the languages of quantum mechanics and of thermodynamics is an outstanding feature of this hook, as it enables the authors t o express the necessarily abstract laws of statistics in familiar terms. The remaining portion of the hook deals with the practical applications of the subject. The topics discussed are: the thermodynamic properties of monatomic and polyatomic ideal gases including chemical equilibrium; elementary properties of ideal crystals; non-ideal gases and phase integrals; electric and magnetic fields; and, in the last chapter, the applications of Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac statistics t o the problems of hladr hod", radiation.. elementarv of metals. and . .orooerties . degenerate gases. The appendix contains an excellent collection of uvrful mathematical formulas, numcrical tables and physical
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The book represents an ideal compromise between a massive treatise and a condensed summary. Many of the topicscould he discussed further in great detail. However, the material selected serves well t o illustrate the methods of statistical mechanics and all of it is of practical importance t o a physical chemist. The reviewer feels that manv discussions could he made clearer hv giving a direct comparison hctweeu theoretical and experimental results; very few experimental data arc given. J o m R. LACHER ~~
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TEE MATHEMATIWTREORY OP N O N - U N I P O ~GASES. S. Chapman, M.A., D.Sc.. F.R.S.. Professor of Mathematics. Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, and T . G. CmuIing. M A , D.Phil., Lecturer in Mathematics, the University. Manchester. Cambridge University Press. 1939. xxiii 404 pp. 13 figs. 17 X 26 cm. $7.50. While the haok under review seems t o make onlv a limited contact with chemistry, there are important chemical potrotialilics in the subject it covers. For example, the most rccent method for the separation of isotopes depcnds on a phcnomenun discovered theoretically by Chapman. This hook is in no sense a textbuok, although a fairly extensive mathematical introduction is included. It will undoubtedly rcmain for many years the standard reference for the mathematical treatment of transport problems in the kinetic theory of gases. E. J. RosEmAm
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TBB UNI.,B.SITY CIIIEAEO.
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TEE Mlcnoscom R. M. Allen. D. Van Nostrand Company. New York City. 1940. viii 286pp. 82figs. 15 X 23 cm.
83.00.
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This volume is written for the layman and for those individuals with no training in even the most basic principles of physics and optics. It is, therefore, very elementary. This work will find its way into the hands of amateur microscopists, and i t will have a useful place on the reference shelf of high-school laboratories and science clubs. I t was not written for, nor will it satisfy, professional workers. F. J. w r r r r o w r THB U N I Y B A r n OF C=F*OO Carcnoo. ILuNola
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F.~RMWARD MAXCH. Williem J. Hale, Ph.D.. L.L.D. CowardMcCann, Inc., New York City, 1939. xi 222 PP. 12.5 X 18.5 cm. $2.00. Written in popular style, the hook is aimed t o create and stimnlate interest in the important field of farm chemurgy. However, in view of the many fantastic statements and predictions, it may he that the author has defeated his own purpose. From the standpoint of a sound discussion of the possibilities of farm chemurgy there is little basis for commendation of the hook. H. R. K a n Y s n ~
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BROWN UNNBRSR ~ D ISLAND B
PROYIDSNEB,
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CHEMICALC O ~ W A T I O N S h O X S . T h m - B . CWmpkr. AND Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Chemistry. The Tulane University of Louisiana, and John H. Yoe, Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry, University of Virginia. First Edition. John Wiley and Sons, Inc.. New York City, 1940. xiv 247 pp. 16 figs. 15 X 23 cm. 83.00. This haok is planned t o fill a number of gaps in the mathematical education of most chemists. It is true that the elementary material on exponents, logarithms, and the slide rule is ordinarily acquired fairly early in the training of a chemist, hut this discussion is so well done that it might properly serve as a model for teachers of chemistry who find it necessary t o give that computational skill t o their students. The chapter an significant figures, however, contains nothing which might not be found in anv textbook of ouantitative analvsis. The chaoters on solving equations, and especially the material on intcrpolalian and extrapolation, arc important and not particulnrly easy to find elsewhere. Thc presentation of the theory of mcasuremenr goes considerably beyond the common works on quantitative analysis, and the chapter on the classification of errors employs examples selected from many sources, evidently in order t o teach the habit of searching for errors in all sorts of experiments. Some seventy-five pages are devoted to a very detailed and well-studied presentation of the statistical theory of random errors and its practical application to problems of measurement. The final chapter describes the art of "curve-fitting," by which one may find an equation approximately describing a set of empirical results. The method of least squares is shown t o be an effectiveway of finding the most appropriate parameters. This material is a definite requirement for a great deal of the research work now carried on in physical chemistry. Each chapter is followed hy many illustrative problems (with answers a t the end of the hook), and these add greatly to thevalue of the work. ANTON B. - . Bm(: U ~ ~ v a a or ~ ~Soornnaw r v Cu~onwr
Poaow U~rYBlSlrn
LUIAYBTTB, INDIANA
VITAMIN E. A Symposinm, 'Society of Chemical Industry. Edited by A. L. Bncharach and J. C. Drummond. Chemical Publishing Ca.,hc., New York City, 1940. viii 88 pp. 2 f i g s . 15 X 22 cm. $2.00. The book is divided into threeparts: (1) the chemical structure and properties of tocopherol (vitamin E); (2) the physiological action of vitamin E and the consequences of vitamin E deficiency; (3) clinical and veterinary uses of wheat germ oil and vitamin E preparations. Each of the papers, presented a t a symposium April 22, 1939, is documented by references t o original papers, totaling 165; these are combined into a single alphabetical bibliography. There is no index. Though the individual papers are brief, they were carefully prepared by an outstanding group of investigators. The editing and printing have been done carefully. Anyone interested in thc theoretical or practical aspects of vitamin E will find the hook a valuable reference. I n a field of study that is moving rapidly and characterized by many differences in ideas, it is particularly valuable t o have such an adequate cross-section of current opinion. C. G. K l N a
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U - S P I S ~ YOP P ~ I B W O A PITTIBOBOH. PBNNS~VANU
