Descriptive micrometeorology

Book Reviews methods for structure determination, e.g., nmr, cotton eflect, failure envelope, infrared dicbroism, etc., and gives an extensive bibhography to the original literature. The important formulae and the important results are accurately set forth, without detailed derivation. The student of polymer science will find much new information available to him in palatable form. A difficulty that should be mentioned is the question of organization. The reviewer found some important topics scattered through many of the chapters. The problem is: Does one develop a subject such as viscoelasticity in one chapter and include all. the applications to structure determination in that chapter, or does one dovclop the theme of structure and use viscoelwtic studies in those sections where they contribute to a definite structural property? There is prohably no unique answer to this question. Because of the wealth of very recent scientific information, this book is recommended highly and unqualifiedly.

ANNUAL REVIEW OF NUCLEAR SCIENCE, edited by Emilio Segr& Volume 16, 671 pages, diagrams, 6 X 9 in. Palo Alto, Calif., Annual Reviews, Inc., 196G. Price, $8.50. This year’s Annual Reviews of iVuclear Science is, as usual, quite diverse in its choice of content. The subject matter spans from an opening article by V. I. Goldonskii on Radioactive Decay Involving Proton Emission; to the closing one by S. J. Lindenbaum, OnLine Computer Teohnique;r. Section II of a three-section article on Weak Interactions by T. D. Lee and C. S. Wu is itself divided in two (the first part having been published in AnnuaE Reviews of Nuclear Science, 19%) is devoted to Decays of Charge K Mesons and Decays of Neutral K Mesons. The consistent eminence of Columbia University in weak interaction studies is evident from the high quality, consistency of effort and breadth of approach which chara+ terizes this contribution. As regards the new possibilities in nu-

Vol.283,No.5,May 1967

clear structure studies the article by Goldonskii is recommended. Next there is a discussion on Chemical and Structural Effects on Nuclear Radiations by De Benedetti, de S. Barroa and Hay. The introduction to this article is simple and eloquent. Of particular note is Production and Use of Thermal Reactor Neutron Beams, by Maier-Leibnitz and Springer. This contribution describes the properties of neutron beams and should be particularly valuable to students. The authors emphasize the value of neutron beams OS X-ray beams in studies of solid and liquid phenomena; it seems not unreasonable that reactor beams could prove a useful tool in molecular biology. The reviewer strongly recommends this article. The remaining topics cover Nuclear Orientation, Isobaric Spin in Nuclear Physics, Iva&Free Scattering, Fluctuations in Nuclear Reactions, Regge Poles, Particles in the Earth’s Magnetic Field, Economics of Nuclear Power, Fission, Muonium and Neutrinos in Astrophysics. These articles offer interesting contributions to their highly specialized fields. J. V. KANE C@Jtton Laboralory

DESCRIPTIVE MICROMETEOROLOGY, by R. E. Munn. 245 pages, diagrams, 6 x 9 in. New York, Academic Press Inc., 1966. Price, $9.75. The subject matter treated here may be divided into two major parts. The first deals with certain basic features and principles to describe natural radiation fluxes, heat conduction and interface energy transfers, kinematics of air flow including turbulence strueture, and mass transfer, in the lower atmosphere over uniform sections of the earth/air boundary. The second part is concerned with the lower 50 m or so of atmosphere in transitional states, that is, air flow around obstacles, across boundary d&continuities, and over topographic features, including circulations in valleys, over fields and forests, over cities, land and sea breezes, etc. A last and very brief section describes certain possibilities of control, in the deliberate modification of interface structure which can

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Book Reviews result in systematic changes of prevailing micrometeorological states and developments. In comparison with the latest edition (1965) of Geiger’s well-known book “The Climate Near the Ground”, Munn exercises considerable restriction in presenting factual data from the enormously complex fields of micrometeorological investigations (a restriction which is fairly well evidenced by the total number of quoted references, 1218 in Geiger, V.S297 in Munn), but organizes the subject matter somewhatmore systematically, from a theoretical viewpoint. Nevertheless, atmospheric scientists who teach micrometeorology at the university level will probably find that neither Geiger’s nor Munn’s book serves too well as a systematic textr book. But, at the reviewer’s university (Wisconsin), Munn’s book will be very prominently included among the lists of major reference works, and the same presumably will be true at other universities. In view of this, and because of the existing need for further systematic research (directed towards clarification of the intriguing complex of micromcteorological states and processss) it may be necessary to bring out a few inconsistencies in an otherwise highly commendabIe work. Admittedly, terminology is sometimes more a matter of convenience, even of taste, rather than logic. But, if one would follow Munn’s proposed terminology concerning certain types of convection (forced vs free us natiual) one easily arrives at real paraconvection doxes, such as that “natural” hardly ever occurs in nature but can only be studied under the purified conditions of the enclosed laboratory; while “free” convection is not really ‘
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Indeed, this fact ostablishes the logical basis for introduction of the term “surface layer” to single out the lowest stratum of boundary layers in which the height-integration of the vertical gradient of shearing stress produces a total difference-value which is still small compared to the surface value of the shearing stress itself. The same integration when extended over the thickness of the entire boundary layer produces a total d&rence-value which equals the ground drag. Clearly, this makes the “surface layer” a well-defined lowest stratum of the “boundary layer”, and leaves no justification or desirability for the hybrid term “surface boundary layer”. The discussion in the section on dimensional analysis and similarity theory is confusing and contains avoidable inaccuracies. In the section on land and sea breezes, prominent displays illust.rate fields of motion and temperature which however do not depict nature, but results of calculations based an grossly simplified mathematical modeling of the process, and numerical integrations with artificial boundary conditions. Even though Munn emphasizes the computational origin of the graphs, in text and captions, the reviewer fears that some students finding these graphs in a book under the title Descriptive Micrometeorology may confuse a model computation with nature or reality. Those having only elementary calculus may encounter difficulties not only in the mathematical modeling of sea breeze circulations, but also in sections, for example, devoted to Kolmogorov’s similarity theory. More advanced students might wish that Dr. Munn Lad outlined those problem areas still lacking in detail, such as those specialized fields, requiring more and mare improved measurements needed to fill the gaps as well as to stimulate further theoretical research and its applications to micrometeorology. HEINZ LETTAU of Meteorology University of Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin

Departmant

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MOLECULAR PHOTOCIIEMISTRY, by N. J. Turro. 286 pages, diagrams, 54 X 9 in. Now York, W. A. Benjamin, Inc., 1965. Price, $12.50. In thheperiod January 4 to March 1, 1967, twenty-two “Communications to the Editor”

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