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Safety and laboratory practice
Book reviews Safety
and Laboratory
Practice
by J. G.
Ellis and N. J. Riches. Pp. ix + 93. Macmillan, London. 1978. Paperback f3.95.
This book has been written for students on courses leading to the Technician Certificate of the Technician Education Council in Sector C, which includes courses in all the sciences, medical laboratory technology, plastics, and polymers. It will also help those studying the Standard Unit Introduction to Health and Safety at Work (U78/450); school ‘part-time laboratory assistants; and technicians recruited to the fast-growing laboratories in the developing world. Its nine chapters cover laboratory first-aid; electrical safety; fire safety; technicians and the law; safety in chemistry laboratories; safety in physics laboratories; safety in biology laboratories; scientific measurement and reporting; and laboratory standards. There is also an appendix with useful data and information. It is clearly written and presented in an attractive paperback lay-out with excellent illustrations. The handling of topics such as dangerous chemicals, including carcinogens, and specimens and cultures in microbiology and pathology laboratories is sensibly balanced. Technicians play a vital part in all our laboratories and workshops and are frequently made responsible for seeing that high standards of safety are maintained by checking, and demonstrating the use of, the equipment for fire-fighting, first-aid, etc. One welcomes a good book like this that deals so clearly with the essentials of good laboratory practice in such a wide field of important activities. G. D. Muir
Compendium Nomenclature
of Analytical
an IUPACpublication. Pp. 223. Pergamon Press, Oxford. 19 78. Hard coverf14.00, Flexicoverf8.00.
IUPAC is best known to chemists through its work on nomenclature, especially of inorganic and organic compounds-the so-called ‘Red and Blue Books’. Less well-known perhaps, are the activities of IUPAC which concern the nomenclature of analytical chemistry. For twenty or more years, numerous separate recommendations for terminology as used in analytical chemistry have been approved by IUPAC and have subsequently been published in ‘Pure and Applied Chemistry’. The present, separate publication-‘The Orange Book’brings together within one cover all these various recommendations. There are 21 separate sections, each dealing with a major analytical technique or procedure, and giving the recommended symbols and terms to be adopted in published work on that particular subject. The present compendium is thus a valuable addition to existing IUPAC handbooks and one must hope that it will achieve a wide readership amongst practising analytical chemists. Certainly it will ease the problems of authors doubtful of the correct terminology to use in their publications, and be a boon for those whose native tongue is not English. 132
An appendix gives IUPAC’s attitude to the use of the terms ‘equivalent’ and ‘normal’. No recommendations are made but their relationship to current S.I. terminology is discussed. Some chemists might have wished IUPAC to have grasped this nettle more firmly. Although a few inconsistencies are apparent in the text, this book nevertheless provides a valuable service to international communication in analytical chemistry. W. I. Stephen
unstable old-age to death (as a white dwarf, neutron star, or possibly black hole). Despite its attractive readable style, this is an authoritative and up-to-date work which will cater for a wide audience. It should provide valuable background reading for the astronomy undergraduate. My only complaint relates to the diagrams. Many of these appear to be over-simplified and are consequently lacking in vigour and clarity. Nevertheless this book is a good buy at an attractive price. F. R. Stephenson
New Instrumentation for Space Astronomy by K. A. van der Hucht and G. Vaiana. xiv + 339. Pergamon 19 78. Hardback f22.50.
Press, Oxford.
This book contains more than 50 papers presented at a symposium held during the 1977 COSPAR meeting in Tel-Aviv. The topics cover a more restricted range than the title implies-there are no papers concerned with infra-red observations from space vehicles, a topic in which there is considerable interest, or radio observations, which also attract some interest. Nor are there any concerned with cosmic or high energy X-ray, ray, observations, both subjects of major significance. On the other hand there is a substantial amount of material on both UV and X-ray instrumentation. Despite the somewhat sporadic coverage inevitable in a collection of reports, the book records the major areas in which instrumental developments are occurring at the present time and indicates the performance which can be achieved. The large number of projects, proposals, and techniques described reflects the rapid pace with which new instrumentation in these two fields is being devised and explored in the laboratory and it is this which gives the book its principal value and interest. X-ray astronomy in particular is past the initial exploratory phase when relatively simple instrumentation can be used, and has reached the stage where a range of more specialised equipment is required to study the sources which have been discovered. That which is described is aimed at the measurement of the spectrum and polarisation of X-ray sources, and at imaging both cosmic X-ray sources and the Sun over a wide range of quantum energy. A. P. Willmore Stellar Evolution, 2nd edition byA. J. Meadows. ix + 17 1. Pergamon Press, Oxford. 19 78. Hard cover f 7.50, Flexi cover f2.50. This well-written book is a sound choice for anyone who wants a readable and yet wellinformed account of how stars evolve. Its author, Professor A. J. Meadows, has established a reputation as an academic who can also effectively communicate with the general reader and non-specialist. Stellar Evolution, now in its second edition, follows a well-defined pattern. The scene is set by a long but useful introduction which outlines properties the basic and characteristics of stars. Following this, we are taken through the various stages in the lifecycle of a star: from birth out of a gas cloud, through maturity in the main sequence and
An Introduction to Chemical Metallurgy, 2nd edition by R. H. Parker. xiv + 36 1. Pergamon Press, Oxford. 19 78. Hard cover f 17.50, Flexicover f5.00.
This is the second edition of a very useful introduction to physical chemistry applied to metallurgical topics. In the first third of the book the fundamental thermodynamic properties are developed, and in this section the author puts over the concept of entropy very elegantly and avoids many ofthe pitfalls on this subject into which other texts have fallen. The chapter on solutions is comprehensive including a useful contribution on the application to alloy systems. The second part of the book deals with reaction kinetics, electrochemistry, and interfacial phenomena. This last chapter of the section is unusual in similar texts but very useful to the metallurgical student as it refers to such diverse subjects as crushing, mineral flotation, adsorption, nucleation, and mass transport in heterogeneous systems. This is a welcome addition to the book and helps in the integration of subjects covered by modern metallurgical courses. In the final two chapters the theoretical principles developed in the previous sections are applied to the extraction of metals and their subsequent corrosion. Although this part represents a third of the total volume the coverage of the topics is ofnecessity scanty but at least shows the student the relevance of the subject to practical applications. The only difference between this edition from the first would seem to be a change of heat units from calories to joules with no signiticant change in the text or references. The latter could have been updated especially with respect to the tables of thermodynamic data by Kelley (U.S. Bureau of Mines). Overall these are minor faults in a volume aimed at a student readership and the author succeeds admirably in his objective to stimulate an interest in the subject. J. C. Billington
Aspects of the Merrifield Peptide Synthesis by C. Birr. Pp. viii + 102. Springer,
Berlin.
19 78. DM 42 ($2 1.00).
This little book presents a valuable ‘middle of the road’ view of the vexed question of the real value of the Merrifield method. It does not set out to be an exhaustive review of the literature and neither is it a mere laboratory handbook; instead the author has made a critical evaluation on the basis of his own deep experience as a major worker in the field. The book gives a detailed account of the chemical
and Laboratory
Practice
by J. G.
Ellis and N. J. Riches. Pp. ix + 93. Macmillan, London. 1978. Paperback f3.95.
This book has been written for students on courses leading to the Technician Certificate of the Technician Education Council in Sector C, which includes courses in all the sciences, medical laboratory technology, plastics, and polymers. It will also help those studying the Standard Unit Introduction to Health and Safety at Work (U78/450); school ‘part-time laboratory assistants; and technicians recruited to the fast-growing laboratories in the developing world. Its nine chapters cover laboratory first-aid; electrical safety; fire safety; technicians and the law; safety in chemistry laboratories; safety in physics laboratories; safety in biology laboratories; scientific measurement and reporting; and laboratory standards. There is also an appendix with useful data and information. It is clearly written and presented in an attractive paperback lay-out with excellent illustrations. The handling of topics such as dangerous chemicals, including carcinogens, and specimens and cultures in microbiology and pathology laboratories is sensibly balanced. Technicians play a vital part in all our laboratories and workshops and are frequently made responsible for seeing that high standards of safety are maintained by checking, and demonstrating the use of, the equipment for fire-fighting, first-aid, etc. One welcomes a good book like this that deals so clearly with the essentials of good laboratory practice in such a wide field of important activities. G. D. Muir
Compendium Nomenclature
of Analytical
an IUPACpublication. Pp. 223. Pergamon Press, Oxford. 19 78. Hard coverf14.00, Flexicoverf8.00.
IUPAC is best known to chemists through its work on nomenclature, especially of inorganic and organic compounds-the so-called ‘Red and Blue Books’. Less well-known perhaps, are the activities of IUPAC which concern the nomenclature of analytical chemistry. For twenty or more years, numerous separate recommendations for terminology as used in analytical chemistry have been approved by IUPAC and have subsequently been published in ‘Pure and Applied Chemistry’. The present, separate publication-‘The Orange Book’brings together within one cover all these various recommendations. There are 21 separate sections, each dealing with a major analytical technique or procedure, and giving the recommended symbols and terms to be adopted in published work on that particular subject. The present compendium is thus a valuable addition to existing IUPAC handbooks and one must hope that it will achieve a wide readership amongst practising analytical chemists. Certainly it will ease the problems of authors doubtful of the correct terminology to use in their publications, and be a boon for those whose native tongue is not English. 132
An appendix gives IUPAC’s attitude to the use of the terms ‘equivalent’ and ‘normal’. No recommendations are made but their relationship to current S.I. terminology is discussed. Some chemists might have wished IUPAC to have grasped this nettle more firmly. Although a few inconsistencies are apparent in the text, this book nevertheless provides a valuable service to international communication in analytical chemistry. W. I. Stephen
unstable old-age to death (as a white dwarf, neutron star, or possibly black hole). Despite its attractive readable style, this is an authoritative and up-to-date work which will cater for a wide audience. It should provide valuable background reading for the astronomy undergraduate. My only complaint relates to the diagrams. Many of these appear to be over-simplified and are consequently lacking in vigour and clarity. Nevertheless this book is a good buy at an attractive price. F. R. Stephenson
New Instrumentation for Space Astronomy by K. A. van der Hucht and G. Vaiana. xiv + 339. Pergamon 19 78. Hardback f22.50.
Press, Oxford.
This book contains more than 50 papers presented at a symposium held during the 1977 COSPAR meeting in Tel-Aviv. The topics cover a more restricted range than the title implies-there are no papers concerned with infra-red observations from space vehicles, a topic in which there is considerable interest, or radio observations, which also attract some interest. Nor are there any concerned with cosmic or high energy X-ray, ray, observations, both subjects of major significance. On the other hand there is a substantial amount of material on both UV and X-ray instrumentation. Despite the somewhat sporadic coverage inevitable in a collection of reports, the book records the major areas in which instrumental developments are occurring at the present time and indicates the performance which can be achieved. The large number of projects, proposals, and techniques described reflects the rapid pace with which new instrumentation in these two fields is being devised and explored in the laboratory and it is this which gives the book its principal value and interest. X-ray astronomy in particular is past the initial exploratory phase when relatively simple instrumentation can be used, and has reached the stage where a range of more specialised equipment is required to study the sources which have been discovered. That which is described is aimed at the measurement of the spectrum and polarisation of X-ray sources, and at imaging both cosmic X-ray sources and the Sun over a wide range of quantum energy. A. P. Willmore Stellar Evolution, 2nd edition byA. J. Meadows. ix + 17 1. Pergamon Press, Oxford. 19 78. Hard cover f 7.50, Flexi cover f2.50. This well-written book is a sound choice for anyone who wants a readable and yet wellinformed account of how stars evolve. Its author, Professor A. J. Meadows, has established a reputation as an academic who can also effectively communicate with the general reader and non-specialist. Stellar Evolution, now in its second edition, follows a well-defined pattern. The scene is set by a long but useful introduction which outlines properties the basic and characteristics of stars. Following this, we are taken through the various stages in the lifecycle of a star: from birth out of a gas cloud, through maturity in the main sequence and
An Introduction to Chemical Metallurgy, 2nd edition by R. H. Parker. xiv + 36 1. Pergamon Press, Oxford. 19 78. Hard cover f 17.50, Flexicover f5.00.
This is the second edition of a very useful introduction to physical chemistry applied to metallurgical topics. In the first third of the book the fundamental thermodynamic properties are developed, and in this section the author puts over the concept of entropy very elegantly and avoids many ofthe pitfalls on this subject into which other texts have fallen. The chapter on solutions is comprehensive including a useful contribution on the application to alloy systems. The second part of the book deals with reaction kinetics, electrochemistry, and interfacial phenomena. This last chapter of the section is unusual in similar texts but very useful to the metallurgical student as it refers to such diverse subjects as crushing, mineral flotation, adsorption, nucleation, and mass transport in heterogeneous systems. This is a welcome addition to the book and helps in the integration of subjects covered by modern metallurgical courses. In the final two chapters the theoretical principles developed in the previous sections are applied to the extraction of metals and their subsequent corrosion. Although this part represents a third of the total volume the coverage of the topics is ofnecessity scanty but at least shows the student the relevance of the subject to practical applications. The only difference between this edition from the first would seem to be a change of heat units from calories to joules with no signiticant change in the text or references. The latter could have been updated especially with respect to the tables of thermodynamic data by Kelley (U.S. Bureau of Mines). Overall these are minor faults in a volume aimed at a student readership and the author succeeds admirably in his objective to stimulate an interest in the subject. J. C. Billington
Aspects of the Merrifield Peptide Synthesis by C. Birr. Pp. viii + 102. Springer,
Berlin.
19 78. DM 42 ($2 1.00).
This little book presents a valuable ‘middle of the road’ view of the vexed question of the real value of the Merrifield method. It does not set out to be an exhaustive review of the literature and neither is it a mere laboratory handbook; instead the author has made a critical evaluation on the basis of his own deep experience as a major worker in the field. The book gives a detailed account of the chemical