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NEW BOOKS
to a large circle of readers. The subject-matter of the volume does not include the phenomena of catalysis however. Indeed the word “catalysis” is not found in the index! It is merely the reviewer’s opinion thatthe studies portrayed here should be of interest to physical chemists who wish t o elucidate the problems of catalysis. The methods of research employed and discussed by the author may well find extended application and lead to a richer and more precise knowledge of surface chemistry. The content of this interesting book is divided into fifteen chapters and can be discussed in the briefest manner by mentioning the various topics: electron emission from metals; the nature of adsorption forces; the adsorption of cesium on tungsten surfaces and other electropositive metals on metal surfaces; photoelectric emission after adsorption of electropositive metals on metal surfaces; double layers formed by the adsorption of gases; the adsorption of light by matter in the gaseous and in the adsorbed state; the selective photoelectric effect; alkali-metal atoms adsorbed within the lattice of the alkali halides and their photoelectric properties; electronic conduction in the lattices of the alkali halides and other lattices; photoelectric cathodes with thick intermediate layers of a dielectric and metal particles; thermionic emission of cathodes with a dielectric; oxide-covered cathodes; emission of electrons into intermediate layers of dielectrics and into blocking layers. The author makes abundant use of energy diagrams in his discussion. To the chemist with modern training this method of treatment should be very satisfactory. GEO.GLOCKLER.
T h e S t w c t u r e of Crystals. Supplement for 1930-34 to the second edition. By RALPHW. G . WYCKOFF.American Chemical Society Monograph No. 19A. 240 pp.; 75 figs. New York: Reinhold Publishing Corporation, 1935. The present volume supplements the second edition of the author’s well-known treatise and covers the work for the last four years on structure determination of crystals by x-ray methods. The eleven chapters are numbered to correspond to those in the second edition, and an appendix gives the complete literature of the subject. The same chronological arrangement is maintained as is found in the second edition. This bibliography covers sixty-one pages. It is evident that the book is indispensable to the worker in the field of crystal structure determination, but any one interested in the general field of atomic and molecular structure and the solid state n d l by necessity have t o refer t o this treatise-supplement. The figures shown are excellent in execution and an invaluable help in understanding the intricate patterns of the more complex crystals. The book represents an enormous amount of the most painstaking effort, and the author is to be congratulated on the result of his labors. GEO.GLOCKLER. Body Water-The Exchange of Fluids in Man. By JOHNP. PETERS. 14.5 x 23 cm.; 5 figs.; viii 405 pp. Springfield, Illinois, and Baltimore, Maryland: Charles C. Thomas. Price: $4.00. There has been great need for such a comprehensive discussion of the r81e of water in the vital processes of the human organism. Professor Peters is excellently qualified to bring together the many papers which have been published in this field and to discuss them critically, inasmuch as he has himself actively worked in this field for many years. This volume contains much more than its title would indicate. In addition t o considering the composition of the various body fluids, i t is a rather complete survey of the physi~lt~gy of the absorption, secretion, and excretion of many substances such as carbohydrates, nitrogen-containing compounds, fats, salts, etc., within the
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