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cells and electrometric pH determination; adsorption-the colloidal state; membrane equilibrium; equilibria in blood; reaction velocity and enzyme action; oxidationreduction potentials-phase boundary of potentials; electrokinetic phenomena; transformation of energy. The book is essentially orthodox. Distrubing facts are ignored conscientiously and effectively. No reference is made anywhere t o the effect of solubility on partial pressures, as in the case of ether and water and consequently there is no reference t o the absence of any solubility term in the so-called Raoult formula. All proteins combine stoichiometrically with hydrogen chloride and albumin forms true solutions in water, p. 116. WILDERD. BANCROFT.
Gmelins Handbuch der anorganischen Chemie. 8 Auflage. Herausgegeben von der Deutschen Chemischen Gesellschaft. System Nummer 59. Eisen. Teil A. Lieferung 4. 26 x 18 om.; pp. 587-846. Berlin: Verlag Chemie, 1932. Price 41 Marks (Subscription Price 35.50 Marks). This volume, written by Prof. Durrer of the Technische Hochschule, Charlottenburg, is a continuation of Lieferung A3, will be completed b y Lieferung A4, and deals with the metallurgy of iron. I t contains accounts of the puddling process, the Bessemer, Thomas and other Open-Hearth processes, electric furnace methods, and several minor processes. The references to the literature are very complete, including European and American publications, and there are numerous curves and illustrations of plant. The actual text is relatively meagre, most of the space being taken up by literature references, and numerical data, so that the volume is essentially intended for readers who have a good library available. I t cannot replace the usual works on ferrous metallurgy, since the descriptions are far too sketchy to be of any particular value in themselves. It would seem that by branching off into chemical technology the editors of Gmelin have rather departed from the intention of the work, and if other parts of the subject are to be treated on the applied side in the same way as in the present volume, the result will be somewhat disappointing. J. R. PARTINOTON. Eisen- und Stahllegierungen Patentsammlung. Zugleich Anhang w r Metallurgie des Eisens in Gmelins Handbuch der anorganischen Chemie. By A. GRUTZNER. 26 x 18 cm. ;pp. 308. Berlin: Verlag Chemie, 1932. Price 32 Marks. This volume, which is an appendix t o the sections on iron and steel in Gmelin’s Handbuch, consists entirely of references t o patents, with brief statements of the contents, arranged in tabular form according to the chemical composition of the systems. The patents cover the period 1880 to 1932 and various countries, and there are 7000 references. There is no doubt that such a work will save a n enormous amount of time and labour and the price must be considered reasonable. It should be in all technical libraries, J. R. PARTINOTON. T h e Sorption of Gases and Vapours by Solids. By J. W. MCBAIN. 23 x 14 cm.; pp. xii 577. London: Geo. Routledge and Sons, 1932. Price 25 shillings net. The group of rather heterogeneous phenomena known as the sorption of gases and vapours b y solids has been the subject of a great number of experimental and theoretical investigations, and has acquired a n extensive and scattered literature. In view of the great general interest of the subject, a book merely giving a classified survey of the material and literature references would in itself be of appreciable
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utility, but when such a comprehensive treatment is accompanied, as i t is in the present volume, by the critical and suggestive views of an expert, the book naturally becomes one of considerable interest and importance. In his book, McBain has provided not only workers in this field but also chemists and physicists in general with an account of the particular aspects of sorption indicated in the title which is likely t o become the standard work of reference. The range of material dealt with is surprisingly large, and in his careful study of the literature, in the great majority of cases obviously in the original, the author has not only materially contributed t o the attainment of a proper perspective but has also performed an exacting task for which he deserves the thanks of his readers. The literature references dre very full, in a few cases the bibliography having been contributed by Bpecialists, and the author index contains 1500 names. There is a short subject index and an index of substances, so that the use of the book for purposes of reference is easy. Numerous tables and curves are given in the text. In some cases the descriptions on the curves are in German, and some rather complicated diagrams of apparatus are not explained in the text. The emphasis in the treatment is on the experimental side, although the theories are also discussed in a critical manner. For the detailed mathematical treatment of the theories the reader is referred to other works. The style is generally terse, sometimes even t o the point of being in places rather difficult t o understand, and the large amount of information given sometimes leads to a slight lack of coherence in the text, which makes the reading rather tedious. In compensation for this, the reader will find that the book covers a really amazing amount of ground and gives a well chosen selection of numerical data. Among the contents are descriptions of the experimental methods; sorption by charcoal, zeolites, silica and other gels, glass, impermeable crystals, metals; the thickness of t h e adsorbed film; mobility in sorbed films; sorption by jellies; effect of sorption on the solid; heat of sorption; theories of sorption; contact catalysis; the electrical interpretation of sorption. The author, as a result of his critical survey, concludes that Langmuir’s theory of adsorption is the one which agrees best with all the available facts, although he admits that in some cases the same data have been used to support two conflicting theories. He claims (p. 459) that the condensed film theory has been disproved by some experiments by himself and Britton, but omits to mention that in the same issue of the journal in which these were published another set of experiments by Foote and Dixon were reported which, although not specifically designed t o test that theory, were shown t o be in agreement with it. The remarkable experiments of Hardy haunt the exposition of the monomolecular film theory in several places, and it is regrettable t h a t the work of Bastow and Bowden came too late for inclusion. The book is one which should find a welcome from many classes of readers and deserves the highest commendation. The great bulk of the literature might well have overwhelmed a less enthusiastic and energetic author, but McBain has not only mastered i t but has been able to deal with it in a critical and suggestive manner which deserves great praise and adds materially to the value of the book. J. R. PARTINGTON.
Wdrlerbuch der Kolloidchemie. By ALFREDKUHN. 19 x 13 cm.; pp. 179. Dresden: Theodor Steinkopff, 1932. Price RM. 8. This book is not, as its title states, merely a dictionary of colloidal chemistry. The treatment lies between t h a t adopted in a standard English dictionary and that in an encyclopedia, the more important topics being treated in greater detail; for
