Encounters in Experimental Chemistry
William L. Jolly, University of California, Berkeley. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1972. 157 pp. Figs. and tables. 21.5 x 29 cm. $4:95, paperbound. University chemistry laboratory courses should attempt to stimulate students' interest in chemistry and to indicate the relevance of the subject, in addition to teaching chemical principles and techniques. Professor Jolly's "Encounters in Experimental Chemistry" should go far in the direction of fulfilling these requirements. The manual is divided into four parts: Part I. Syntheses (hydrazine sulfate, CuaHg14, cis and trans-[Co(en)zClz]Cl. aspirin, plus others); Part 11. Quantitative Studies (gravimetric and volumetric analyses, calorimetry, and electrochemistry); Part I n . Kinetic Studies (clock reaction, acid hydrolysis of trans-[Co(en)~ClzlCl, and enzymes); and Part IV. Qualitative Studies (chemical tests for the common nonmetallic ions and qualitative analyses for the metal cations). The chemistry of several metals of industrial importance and of some which pose environmental hazards, is also investigated in Part IV. As painted out by Professor Jolly, although rather simple and inexpensive apparatus is employed throughout the manual the instructor can make many of the experiments more quantitative and sophisticated by the use of volumetric flasks, calorimeters, p H meters, etc. The inclusion of several quantitative analysis experiments is especially appropriate as the "traditional" quantitative analysis laboratory course is being phased out or reformulated in many colleges and universities. Several negative points should also be noted. Safety precautions are "buried" in the forward to the students and may generally go unnoticed by them. The manual requires a separate notebook for recording data-some students may not be able to handle a manual such as this in that they must decide what data t o record. The thermite reaction for practical purposes cannot be done in an average laboratory because of the normal student-instructor ratio in addition to space and safety limitations. However, it might be used as a demonstration. The text is well printed and produced with few errors. The large type allows for comfortable reading and the diagrams and equations are very clear indeed. In summary, I would use and recommend this book for its intended purpose, " . . . to introduce beginning chemistry students to some of the enjoyment and excitement of experimental chemistry.''
A420 (1965) 1, J. A. Ricketts predicted it would enjoy "a long shelf life."'Appearance of a new edition in 1972 hears testimony t o the accuracy of that prediction. The hook was designed with dual purposes: to serve as a study aid for students in the undergraduate survey course in physical chemistry, and t o provide a source of test prohleins for teachers of that course. In my opinion it has served hoth purposes admirably. The second edition does not differ radically from the first. It consists of 21 chapters, covering the usual topics in the undergraduate physical chemistry survey and in addition some elementary applications of group theory to quantum mechanics, a topic less often covered. Each chapter consists of introductory comments, a section on "equations and concepts" which briefly summarizes the theory necessary to master the material dealt with in the chapter, a set of problems (usually hetween 20 and 40 of them), and a t the end, the solutions to all the problems, worked out in detail. The careful explanations of the answers make the book far more useful to the student than the usual problem book which lists only brief numerical answers. About 30% of the problems in this edition are new, and there is about a 10% increase hoth in number of problems and in the overall length of the book. In each chapter the problems have been rearranged so that all those of a particular type are together. Some changes in notation have been made, to conform with current practice. For instance the symbol for the Gihhs free energy has been changed from F to G. On the other hand. Professor Adsmson persists in tabulating Ems as oxidation patenti&, which must be practically unique in a 1972 publication. The typography of the new edition is B vast improvement aver the old. One rather major change in the hook is the introduction of some statistical thermodynamics in the chapters on heat capacity and the second law. Expressions for the translational, rotational and vibrational heat capacities are worked out, using-hut not developing-the quantum mechanical results for the energy terms involved. In the chapter on the second law, an expression for entropy is derived and used to get the Sackur-Tetrode equation for translational entropy of an ideal gas. A total of 16 problems deal with statistical thermodynamics. "Understanding Physical Chemistry" should continue to he a very substantial aid in the teaching and learning of physical chemistry
Donald J. Darensbourg Tulane University New Orleans, Louisiana 70118
Daniel 6.Howell Nebraska Wesieyao University Lincoio. Nebraska 68504
This remarkable book is a gold mine for historians concerned with the "Nuclear Age." It collects remarks made by Dr. Seahorg a t the many occasions commemorating the historic events of the past 25 years. Part one, Builders and Discoverers, details the contributions of the pioneering individuals whose accomplishments made possible the nuclear age. Persons, both well known and obscure, become a t least acquaintances of the reader from the warm, personal narrative. of the events in which they participated. Part two, Historic Landmarks, deals with the institutions which developed as the centers of research on nuclear energy and its applications. The 312 illustrations, many previously unpublished photographs, greatly enhance the realization that science is the work of human beings. Scientists old enough to have worked in the laboratories of the Manhattan Project will he touched by nostalgia. Scientists of more brief careen and students can be grateful to find recent scientific history so documented by personal recollection. WFK
New Volumes in Continuing Series The following titles are those of volumes i n continuing series. Many of these series are familiar to waders who am best served by prompt announcement of the appearance of the new titles. The policy qf T H I S JOURNAL will be to publish full reviews only of inaugural volumes i n new series. Compiehensive Chemical Kinetics. Vol. 6: Reactions of Non-Metallic lnorganlc Compounds
Edited by C. H. Bamford and C. F. H. Tipper, hoth of University of Liverpool. Elsevier Publishing Ca., New York, 1972. xv + 517 pp. Tables. 25 X 17 cm. $51.75. Contributors: G. J. Buist; N. Cohen; J. R. Gilbert; J. Heicklen; J. H. Thoma; J. M. White; I. R. Wilson. Chemical Analvsis. A Series -~ - - of Monographs 0; ~"alyticalChemistry and Its Applications. Vol. 37: Analytical Chemistry of Phosphorus Compounds
Edited by M. Holmann, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehavot, Israel. Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1972. x 850 pp. Figs. and tables. 24 X 16 em. $39.95.
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Progress in Polarography. Vol. I l l Understanding Physical Chemistry. 2nd Edition
Arthur W. Adamson, University of Southern California. W. A. Benjamin, Inc., New York, 1969. xiii 516 pp. Figs. andtahles. 22.7 X 15.0cm. $4.95.
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In his review of the first (1964) edition of this problem hook (this Journal, 42,
Nuclear Milestones
A Collection of Speeches by Glenn T. Seaborg, formerly Chairman of the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission. W. H. Freeman and Co., San Francisco, California 94104, 1972. v + 390 pp. Figs. and photographs. 22.5 X 14 cm. $7.50.
Edited hy P. Zuman and L. Meites, Clarkson College of Technology, Potsdam, New York. Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1972. xvi 399 pp. Figs. and tables. 23.5 X 15.5 cm. $24.95.
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Contributors: B. Kastening; Michill Kazlovsky; Gen P. Sata; S. G. Mairanovskii; Reita Tamamushi; Alexandra Zebreva; P. Zuman. Volume 50,Number 7, July 1973
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