Source book of the. new plastics

BOOK NOTES SOURCE BOOK OF "rUE NEW PLASTICS, by Herbert R. Simonds. 354 pages, illustrations, 6 X 9 ill. New York, Reinhold Publishing Corporation, 1959. Price, 810.00. Recent significant improvements in established plastics and the 100 most important patents issued in the plastics field last year are discussed in this volu,ne. New plastics, their properties, production, price, applications and selection are also included as well as the seven new primary plastics of 1958. Complete information about polypropylene and polycarbonate is given. Also examined is the early German development of stereospecific catalysts. A section on graft copolymers describes the use of that technique in modifying plastics properties. This volume offers a unique approach to plastics and concerns itself almost exclusively with latest developments. It contains the first and only survey of federal-sponsored research in plastics, made by James Kanegis of the Department of Commerce. CRYSTAL CHEMISTRY OF SIMPLE COMPOUNDS OF URANIUM, THORIUM, PLUTONIUM AND NEPTUNIUM, by E. S. Makarov. 145 pages, 6 X 9 in., diagrams. New York, Consultants Bureau, Inc., 1959. Price, $5.25. This text, translated from the Russian by E. B. Uvarov, attempts to corre!ate crystal structure data on the simplest compounds of the most thoroughly studied actinide elements. Summarized in a compact form are abundant factual data on crystal structures heretofore scattered over numerous literature sources. The author gives full details of the crystalline structures of the polymorphic modifications of the actinides and their simplest compounds, and also considers certain questions of general crystal chemistry. Seaborg's cautious position regarding the parent of the "5f" family of elements is adopted.

ENGINEERING MECttANICS, by Dwight F. Gunder and Derald A. Stuart. 391 pages, 6 X 9 in., diagrams. New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1959. Price, $7.75. A clear transition between an approach to engineering mechanics and the newer vector treatment is provided in this volume designed for all engineering students. Writing in a~l informal style with clear and simple topics, the authors draw upon the reader's background ill elementary physics and mathematics. The concept of a fixed vector is used consistently throughout the statistics sections. In each subtopic of mechanics, new problems are introduced to point out the applications of mechanics in a wide variety of classical and modern technological fields. In addition, this text serves as a valuable reference for the engineer who is interested in adding the vector to his equipment. ANALYTICAL ELEMENTS OF MECHANICS, by Thomas R. Kane. 250 pages, diagrams, 5¼ X 8¼ in. New York, Academic Press Inc., 1959. Price, $4.75. This is the first of two volumes intended as a course in classical mechanics. The subject matter is presented on a level sufficiently high to encompass the entire range of phenomena to be considered. Vector analysis is used throughout by the author as the best symbolic language available for this. The book is divided into four sections: 1. Vector Algebra; 2. Centroids and Mass Centers; 3. Moments and Couples; 4. Static Equilibrium. Colataining very little discursive material--introductory remarks, allusions to topics of philosophical or historical interest, explanations of the physical significance of mathematically defined quantities, etc.--it is not intended as an entire course in mechanics. PRINTED CIRCUITS, by Morris Moses. 224 pages, illustrations, 5½ × 8½ in. New York, Gernsback Library, Inc., 1959. Price: $2.90 (paper); $4.60 (hard cover). As a virtual encyclopedia, this handbook on the "how-to-do-lt" o.f printed circuits and 52I