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Chemical analysis by flame photometry, second revised edition
204
BOOK
REVIEWS
The hook is printed by “photo-offset” and is relatively free of errors. One omission occurs on page 256, where Fig. 70 is not shown but discussed. While the book is designed for the biochemist, it is of value also to the analytical chemist in that it details techniques which are generally useful, For the chemist who wishes to acquaint himself with basic biochemical enzymic techniques and tissue preparation, this book is outstanding. SAMUEL NATELSON,
The Roosevelt
Hospital,
New
York
Analytical Chemistry 1962, The Proceedings of the International Symposium Held at Birmingham University (U.K.), April, 1962, in Honour of Fritz Feigl to Commemorate His 70th Birthday. Edited by PHILIP W. WEST, A. M. G. MACDONALD, AND T. S. WEST. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1963. xii + 411 pp. $16.00. Many technologists had regrets that they could not, or did not, attend the 1962 Birmingham Symposium. The published proceedings rekindle these regrets. This was a symposium of significance. The over sixty papers and lectures presented ran the gamut of present-day analytical chemistry: inorganic and organic, qualitative and quantitative, macro and micro, theory and practice, separations and determinations, and chemical and physical methods. This symposium was dedicated to Fritz Feigl. It is noteworthy how many contributors found a spark or catalyst in the monographs and pioneering research of Professor Feigl in the areas of qualitative tests and specific and selective reactions. Some of the lectures and papers were either largely retrospective or speculative in content; others represented modest extensions of previous research; others constituted a preliminary report of work being published elsewhere; and others presented novel findings in relatively full detail. This volume should be acquired by the chemical library with significant holdings in the area of analytical chemistry. A. J, BARNARD, JR., J. T. Baker
Chemical
Co., Phillipsburg,
New Jersey
Chemical Analysis By Flame Photometry, Second Revised Edition. By AND C. T. J. ALKAMEDE; translated by P. T. GILBERT, JR. Wiley
R. HERRMANN (Interscience),
New York,
1963. xiv + 644 pp. $16.00.
This is an excellent book, but anyone who consults this volume with the desire to find “ready-made recipes” which he may apply to solve a problem of practical analysis will be disappointed. The authors find this desire understandable but state that “it cannot be satisfied within the limits of this book,” and elaborate on this matter. Their points are well taken and convincingly presented, although one might argue that this philosophy carried to the extreme would make the publication of any procedure useless and would force each practicing analyst to develop his own methods from scratch. Consequently, Section V (Applications, pp. 333-369) deals only with general aspects and describes peculiarities of the various fields like agricultural, biological, geological, food analysis, etc. However, a great number of references is given for each subsection.
EOOK
205
REVIEWS
So the seeker of recipes is convinced that the other way is correct and turns back to the beginning of the book in order to acquire the necessary knowledge of principles. Chapter I (Introduction) familiarizes the reader with terminology and history. An excellent presentation of advantages and limitations of flame photometry as compared with other analytical methods gives immediately a feeling of security ; there are experts at work who attack the matter skillfully and critically. without any unreasonable claim that their field provides the only road to success. Chapter II provides the necessary theoretical background. The sections are superbly organized, the amount of material is well selected, and here (as in other chapters) appropriate emphasis is put on the many problems still open to date. However, here even the advanced reader may experience difficulties in following the derivations because the use of symbols is highly confusing, due to complete lack in consistency. To cite a few examples, d, s, and v denote, on page 18, diameter, flow rate, and viscosity, respectively. Four pages further, the same letters stand for density (later on designated by w), surface energy, and velocity, respectively. On page 33, J denotes the ionization constant; on page 43 it stands for the inner quantum number (indicated, incidentally, on page 39 by j) ; J on page 31 denotes “radiation” (radiant power?) The subsequent Chapters III and 11: occupy 264 pages and deal with practical aspects. Matters concerning design and construction of instruments, techniques of measurement, standards, possible sources of errors, blanks, working curves, and the like are treated extensively. These sections show the authors’ familiarity with the literature and the matter itself. They also call forth praise of the translator, who concerned himself with more than simple language transfer; he contributed a great deal from his own expert knowledge of the field. This is quite obvious throughout the text and goes beyond the addition of frequent “translater’s footnotes.” Thus the usual time gap between original edition and translation is bridged in a very satisfactory manner. The book contains more than 800 literature references (for most of which an abbreviated note regarding the content is given), a tabulation of emitting species and an index of spectra by wavelength. A hundred-odd pages contain an extensive atlas of flame spectra, some of which have not been published before. Their reproduction matches the outstanding quality of the make of the rest of the book, An index, filling 61 pages (nearly 1070 of the volume!) in double columns will refer the reader to an authoritative answer to any question about flame photometry. H.
FLXCHKA,
Chemistry
Department,
Georgia Institute
of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia
Thin-Layer Chromatography. By KURT RANDERATH; translated Academic Press, New York, 1963. xiv $ 250 pp. $8.00.
by D. D.
LIBMAN.
This interesting and very useful book consists of fifteen chapters outlining the rudiments of thin-layer chromatography. The presentation is for those who are new to the field; it is essentially a review in detail of the literature up to July, 1962, although some unpublished material is also included.
BOOK
REVIEWS
The hook is printed by “photo-offset” and is relatively free of errors. One omission occurs on page 256, where Fig. 70 is not shown but discussed. While the book is designed for the biochemist, it is of value also to the analytical chemist in that it details techniques which are generally useful, For the chemist who wishes to acquaint himself with basic biochemical enzymic techniques and tissue preparation, this book is outstanding. SAMUEL NATELSON,
The Roosevelt
Hospital,
New
York
Analytical Chemistry 1962, The Proceedings of the International Symposium Held at Birmingham University (U.K.), April, 1962, in Honour of Fritz Feigl to Commemorate His 70th Birthday. Edited by PHILIP W. WEST, A. M. G. MACDONALD, AND T. S. WEST. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1963. xii + 411 pp. $16.00. Many technologists had regrets that they could not, or did not, attend the 1962 Birmingham Symposium. The published proceedings rekindle these regrets. This was a symposium of significance. The over sixty papers and lectures presented ran the gamut of present-day analytical chemistry: inorganic and organic, qualitative and quantitative, macro and micro, theory and practice, separations and determinations, and chemical and physical methods. This symposium was dedicated to Fritz Feigl. It is noteworthy how many contributors found a spark or catalyst in the monographs and pioneering research of Professor Feigl in the areas of qualitative tests and specific and selective reactions. Some of the lectures and papers were either largely retrospective or speculative in content; others represented modest extensions of previous research; others constituted a preliminary report of work being published elsewhere; and others presented novel findings in relatively full detail. This volume should be acquired by the chemical library with significant holdings in the area of analytical chemistry. A. J, BARNARD, JR., J. T. Baker
Chemical
Co., Phillipsburg,
New Jersey
Chemical Analysis By Flame Photometry, Second Revised Edition. By AND C. T. J. ALKAMEDE; translated by P. T. GILBERT, JR. Wiley
R. HERRMANN (Interscience),
New York,
1963. xiv + 644 pp. $16.00.
This is an excellent book, but anyone who consults this volume with the desire to find “ready-made recipes” which he may apply to solve a problem of practical analysis will be disappointed. The authors find this desire understandable but state that “it cannot be satisfied within the limits of this book,” and elaborate on this matter. Their points are well taken and convincingly presented, although one might argue that this philosophy carried to the extreme would make the publication of any procedure useless and would force each practicing analyst to develop his own methods from scratch. Consequently, Section V (Applications, pp. 333-369) deals only with general aspects and describes peculiarities of the various fields like agricultural, biological, geological, food analysis, etc. However, a great number of references is given for each subsection.
EOOK
205
REVIEWS
So the seeker of recipes is convinced that the other way is correct and turns back to the beginning of the book in order to acquire the necessary knowledge of principles. Chapter I (Introduction) familiarizes the reader with terminology and history. An excellent presentation of advantages and limitations of flame photometry as compared with other analytical methods gives immediately a feeling of security ; there are experts at work who attack the matter skillfully and critically. without any unreasonable claim that their field provides the only road to success. Chapter II provides the necessary theoretical background. The sections are superbly organized, the amount of material is well selected, and here (as in other chapters) appropriate emphasis is put on the many problems still open to date. However, here even the advanced reader may experience difficulties in following the derivations because the use of symbols is highly confusing, due to complete lack in consistency. To cite a few examples, d, s, and v denote, on page 18, diameter, flow rate, and viscosity, respectively. Four pages further, the same letters stand for density (later on designated by w), surface energy, and velocity, respectively. On page 33, J denotes the ionization constant; on page 43 it stands for the inner quantum number (indicated, incidentally, on page 39 by j) ; J on page 31 denotes “radiation” (radiant power?) The subsequent Chapters III and 11: occupy 264 pages and deal with practical aspects. Matters concerning design and construction of instruments, techniques of measurement, standards, possible sources of errors, blanks, working curves, and the like are treated extensively. These sections show the authors’ familiarity with the literature and the matter itself. They also call forth praise of the translator, who concerned himself with more than simple language transfer; he contributed a great deal from his own expert knowledge of the field. This is quite obvious throughout the text and goes beyond the addition of frequent “translater’s footnotes.” Thus the usual time gap between original edition and translation is bridged in a very satisfactory manner. The book contains more than 800 literature references (for most of which an abbreviated note regarding the content is given), a tabulation of emitting species and an index of spectra by wavelength. A hundred-odd pages contain an extensive atlas of flame spectra, some of which have not been published before. Their reproduction matches the outstanding quality of the make of the rest of the book, An index, filling 61 pages (nearly 1070 of the volume!) in double columns will refer the reader to an authoritative answer to any question about flame photometry. H.
FLXCHKA,
Chemistry
Department,
Georgia Institute
of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia
Thin-Layer Chromatography. By KURT RANDERATH; translated Academic Press, New York, 1963. xiv $ 250 pp. $8.00.
by D. D.
LIBMAN.
This interesting and very useful book consists of fifteen chapters outlining the rudiments of thin-layer chromatography. The presentation is for those who are new to the field; it is essentially a review in detail of the literature up to July, 1962, although some unpublished material is also included.