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Electromagnetic scattering and its applications
The one peculiarity of the book is that tt begms wtth, not a table of contents,but rather an index. Here are alphabetically listed all of the entries together with a certain amount of alternative entry material other names under which you might think to look up a given subject. Thts sort of cross indexing is by no means complete, and one ts occasionally reduced simply to reading the index to find a desired topic, However, the index is only a little over five pages of double columns, so it is not impossible to search. The book also uses the useful convention of printing m bold face words or phrases in one entry that are themselves the subject of a separate entry. One could always wish for more. Obvtously, I feel that the indexing is less than perfect. One might also wish, in at least some cases, that some sort of bibliographic guidance could be provided for those who wish more information on a given topic. There is still a need for a real energy dictionary that will include definitions for fundamental terms, thus making the subject accessible to those with a somewhat lower level of background knowledge than this volume calls for. On the other hand, obviously, none of these matters were really a part of the initial concern of the author. What he set out to do he has done well. Coverage of at least a large number of the technologies relating to environmental aspects of energy production and consumption are here covered. At the price, this is hard to beat, considering present costs of books generally. For those whose work involves or adjoins energy technology. the book can be recommended. JAMES P. LODGE. JR.
Handbook of Ozone Technology and Applications, Vol. I, edited by Rip G. Rice and Aharon Netzer, Ann Arbor Science Publishers, 10 Tower Office Park, Woburn. MA 01801. U.S.A. 1982, x + 386 pp. Price $39.95 Windborne Pests and Diseases, Meteorology of Airborne Organisms, David Pedgley, Halsted Press, a division of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 605 Third Ave., New York. NY 10158. U.S.A., 1982, 250 pp. Price $59.95. Biodegradation of Pesticides, edited by Fumio Matsumura and C. R. Krishna Murti Plenum Publishing Corporation, 233 Sprint Street, New York. NY 10013. U.S.A. 1982. xiv + 3 I2 pp. Price $39.50. Atomic Energy, R. M. E. Diamant, Ann Arbor Science Publishers, 10 Tower Office Park, Woburn, MA 01801, U.S.A. 1982, xviii + 553 pp. Price $49.95. Electromagnetic Scattering and Its Applications, L. P. Bayvel and A. R. Jones, Applied Science Publishers, Ltd., 22 Rippleside Commercial Estate, Ripple Road, Barking, Essex IGll OSA, U.K., 1981, xvi+289pp. Price $56.00. Atmospheric Effects of Waste Heat Discharges, Chandrakant M. Bhumralkar and Jill Williams, Marcel Dekker, Inc., 270 Madison Avenue, New York. NY 10016, U.S.A., 1982, vi+ 157~~. Price $29.50. This is another gathering of books of marginal interest to at least most of the audience of this Journal, presumably sent to me by publishers who simply had me down as concerned with “Environment”. They are arranged more or less in the order of increasing pertinence to this field. The volume on ozone, despite its enticing title, is totally devoted to the technological use of ozone. A subsequent volume is said to be concerned with atmospheric ozone, but it is not to hand, so it is impossible to evaluate it. The present book is almost entirely about ozone as disinfectant for water-apparently an idea whose time is now coming, since it certainly produces better tasting drinking water than chlorination Those in the audience whose concerns include this field will find it useful; the rest should undoubtedly pass it by.
M/indbornr Pests und Disruscv treats prectsely tts announcec subject matter. Obviously. both insects and disease spores ni organisms can be considered air pollutants in the broadest possible sense of the word. They are also of great economic importance in many cases. This book develops a basic Ievci (11 discussion of meteorology and then applies it scpard-tcly I,’ insect pests and to disease organisms. As nearly as I can tell from a superficial examination, it appears to cover its announced subject matter reasonably adequatei! t )nce again. those to whom it could speak should make it\ acquaintance. By contrast, the atmosphere as such scarcely enters mto the book, Biodegradation ofPesticides. The focus is on the various organisms, both large and small, that metabolize pesticides. thereby converting them into less toxic forms. According to the editors, it grew out of (but is not explicitly the proceedings of) a U.S.-Indian consultation held in Lucknow. The date of that consultation is not given. In this case, we have a body of knowledge that is far less settled in those represenied by the two preceding volumes, so this must be viewed as a snapshot of roughly current knowledge. If you are generally in favor of nuclear energy, but occasionallv find incidents like the affair at Three Mile Island depressing,*you will love Atomic Energy. The author is a total enthusiast, even to the point of deriding the alternatives. However, this is not, in my opinion, simply a book for preaching to the choir. The author may be a believer, but he is not a stupid one. He marshalls the arguments in favor of nuclear energy with gusto and considerable knowledge. As far as I can tell, there is not a single false statement in the book. although there are certainly omissions. In areas of opinion, he opts always for those that improve his case; he selects enormous figures for mortality from chemical air pollution. and zero figures for nuclear pollution. Those arguments that he cannot refute he simply skips over. Accordingly. the antinuclear side needs, on twocounts, to read this book. In the first place, they must keep in mind that the statements in it are true; they must test their faith against them. There are indeed some very good arguments in favor of nuclear energy, and tt is simplistic to pretend that there are not. The other count IS. obviously, that these are indeed the arguments that can be made by the pronuclear side. At the very least, if one is to be an antinuclear purist. one must know the strengths ot one‘s opposttion. Obviously, this volume IS part and parcel of our present reductionist philosophy. Whatever the ills we face, we want a panacea for them. Somehow it seems unthinkable that conservation und solar energy and geothermal energy und hydropower and nuclear energy und fossil fuels may all be part of the necessary picture all in their own way and in their own time. All have benefits; all have penalties. We cannot overpopulate the world with any, as will be noted in connection with the last book to be reviewed here. The one clear lesson we need to learn is that one finite world cannot support unlimited expansion of either population or energy. Furthermore, it will not. We have the choice of disciplining our demands voluntarily or having them go unmet beyond a certain point that may be nearer than we wish. The book E/rc%+omaynetic Sccrtfrriny and Its Applicutwns IS a trifle more limited than its title would indicate. being concerned almost entirely with the visible and infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Its approach to its subject is fundamentally mathematical, although there is undeniably a discussion of certain classes of measuring instruments, complete with diagrams. However, the authors’ real interest is in why these devices work, and there are more pages studded wtth equations than otherwise. The primary thrust. however. is from theory toward industrial applications, not toward atmospheric applications. These are mentioned, but occupy only a few pages of the total volume. The mathematics are presented without compromise and without, in general, any effort to redefine symbols that have been defined elsewhere earlier in the volume. There is a table
Handbook of Ozone Technology and Applications, Vol. I, edited by Rip G. Rice and Aharon Netzer, Ann Arbor Science Publishers, 10 Tower Office Park, Woburn. MA 01801. U.S.A. 1982, x + 386 pp. Price $39.95 Windborne Pests and Diseases, Meteorology of Airborne Organisms, David Pedgley, Halsted Press, a division of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 605 Third Ave., New York. NY 10158. U.S.A., 1982, 250 pp. Price $59.95. Biodegradation of Pesticides, edited by Fumio Matsumura and C. R. Krishna Murti Plenum Publishing Corporation, 233 Sprint Street, New York. NY 10013. U.S.A. 1982. xiv + 3 I2 pp. Price $39.50. Atomic Energy, R. M. E. Diamant, Ann Arbor Science Publishers, 10 Tower Office Park, Woburn, MA 01801, U.S.A. 1982, xviii + 553 pp. Price $49.95. Electromagnetic Scattering and Its Applications, L. P. Bayvel and A. R. Jones, Applied Science Publishers, Ltd., 22 Rippleside Commercial Estate, Ripple Road, Barking, Essex IGll OSA, U.K., 1981, xvi+289pp. Price $56.00. Atmospheric Effects of Waste Heat Discharges, Chandrakant M. Bhumralkar and Jill Williams, Marcel Dekker, Inc., 270 Madison Avenue, New York. NY 10016, U.S.A., 1982, vi+ 157~~. Price $29.50. This is another gathering of books of marginal interest to at least most of the audience of this Journal, presumably sent to me by publishers who simply had me down as concerned with “Environment”. They are arranged more or less in the order of increasing pertinence to this field. The volume on ozone, despite its enticing title, is totally devoted to the technological use of ozone. A subsequent volume is said to be concerned with atmospheric ozone, but it is not to hand, so it is impossible to evaluate it. The present book is almost entirely about ozone as disinfectant for water-apparently an idea whose time is now coming, since it certainly produces better tasting drinking water than chlorination Those in the audience whose concerns include this field will find it useful; the rest should undoubtedly pass it by.
M/indbornr Pests und Disruscv treats prectsely tts announcec subject matter. Obviously. both insects and disease spores ni organisms can be considered air pollutants in the broadest possible sense of the word. They are also of great economic importance in many cases. This book develops a basic Ievci (11 discussion of meteorology and then applies it scpard-tcly I,’ insect pests and to disease organisms. As nearly as I can tell from a superficial examination, it appears to cover its announced subject matter reasonably adequatei! t )nce again. those to whom it could speak should make it\ acquaintance. By contrast, the atmosphere as such scarcely enters mto the book, Biodegradation ofPesticides. The focus is on the various organisms, both large and small, that metabolize pesticides. thereby converting them into less toxic forms. According to the editors, it grew out of (but is not explicitly the proceedings of) a U.S.-Indian consultation held in Lucknow. The date of that consultation is not given. In this case, we have a body of knowledge that is far less settled in those represenied by the two preceding volumes, so this must be viewed as a snapshot of roughly current knowledge. If you are generally in favor of nuclear energy, but occasionallv find incidents like the affair at Three Mile Island depressing,*you will love Atomic Energy. The author is a total enthusiast, even to the point of deriding the alternatives. However, this is not, in my opinion, simply a book for preaching to the choir. The author may be a believer, but he is not a stupid one. He marshalls the arguments in favor of nuclear energy with gusto and considerable knowledge. As far as I can tell, there is not a single false statement in the book. although there are certainly omissions. In areas of opinion, he opts always for those that improve his case; he selects enormous figures for mortality from chemical air pollution. and zero figures for nuclear pollution. Those arguments that he cannot refute he simply skips over. Accordingly. the antinuclear side needs, on twocounts, to read this book. In the first place, they must keep in mind that the statements in it are true; they must test their faith against them. There are indeed some very good arguments in favor of nuclear energy, and tt is simplistic to pretend that there are not. The other count IS. obviously, that these are indeed the arguments that can be made by the pronuclear side. At the very least, if one is to be an antinuclear purist. one must know the strengths ot one‘s opposttion. Obviously, this volume IS part and parcel of our present reductionist philosophy. Whatever the ills we face, we want a panacea for them. Somehow it seems unthinkable that conservation und solar energy and geothermal energy und hydropower and nuclear energy und fossil fuels may all be part of the necessary picture all in their own way and in their own time. All have benefits; all have penalties. We cannot overpopulate the world with any, as will be noted in connection with the last book to be reviewed here. The one clear lesson we need to learn is that one finite world cannot support unlimited expansion of either population or energy. Furthermore, it will not. We have the choice of disciplining our demands voluntarily or having them go unmet beyond a certain point that may be nearer than we wish. The book E/rc%+omaynetic Sccrtfrriny and Its Applicutwns IS a trifle more limited than its title would indicate. being concerned almost entirely with the visible and infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Its approach to its subject is fundamentally mathematical, although there is undeniably a discussion of certain classes of measuring instruments, complete with diagrams. However, the authors’ real interest is in why these devices work, and there are more pages studded wtth equations than otherwise. The primary thrust. however. is from theory toward industrial applications, not toward atmospheric applications. These are mentioned, but occupy only a few pages of the total volume. The mathematics are presented without compromise and without, in general, any effort to redefine symbols that have been defined elsewhere earlier in the volume. There is a table