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Fused salts
Boob Reviews cussions of modulation, noise, and system behavior. The authors use a good number of practical examples, but are very direct in subjecting these to mathematical analysis. The result is an unusually good synthesis of Fourier analysis, network theory, modulation theory, systems concepts and practically useful results. Such a synthesis presents a cogent, integrated view of communications engineering in a way which should encourage the reader to think in analytical terms about practical problems in real, physical systems. The authors' exposition is usually lucid and succinct. Their style is interesting. I t is, consequently, startling to find the discussion of frequency modulation unnecessarily complicated with an artificial distinction between "maximum" and "actual" frequency deviations, leading to a difference between deviation ratio and modulation index which is never really clear; and to read '% complex transfer function A(o~) corresponds to a physically realizable network only if A (--w) =A*(¢o)" within two pages of the conclusion that this condition is necessary and sufficient only to ensure that a real input waveform produces a real output waveform. But these minor flaws are not serious in view of the book's many virtues. As a text for students it seems satisfactory, having an adequate supply of references at the end of each chapter, but it lacks study problems. In the hands of an imaginative instructor, it could be a very effective tool. It is also recommended as a condensed review or reference for the practising engineer. R. B. MARSTEN
Radio Corporation of America Princeton, New Jersey TELECOMMUNICATION SATELLITES, edited by Kenneth W. Gatland. 441 pages, diagrams, illustrations, 6 X 9 in. Englewood Cliffs, N. J., Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1964. Price, $14.50. Ken Gatland's latest book can be regarded as an international symposium on communication satellites; it includes American, British and French papers. About one-third of the volume is devoted to experimental programs, about one-sixth to equipment design, and the rest to overall or system problems. The experimental programs described are Courier, Telstar, Relay and Syncom: in each
VoL 279, No. I, January 1965
case the authors have been closely associated with the programs. Design goals, experiments and results are covered, with sufficient diagrams, drawings and photographs included to give a good view of both space and communication practices and results. Equipments considered include the ground terminals, power supply and propulsion. System aspects discussed include orbit choice and economics of satellite communication which is covered in some detail. Two overall system studies are included, together with a visualization of future developments. The volume is historically important, in that it assembles data on experimental programs into a convenient and usable form, however, it is regrettable that a more extensive bibliography of reports on these experiments is not included. The system studies are instructive, and the discussion of system problems is basic to the overall problem of satellite communications, but it cannot be considered as comprehensive. The communication engineer who wishes to become familiar with problems and progress of communications satellites will find this volume most instructive. The space engineer will find it equally useful, but is cautioned that much reading of the references is necessary to become adequately familiar with communications aspects. Finally, the general reader will find this volume an excellent and understandable introduction to the problem. R. P. HAVILAND
General Electric Company Valley Forge, Pennsylvania FUSED SALTS,edited by Benson R. Sundheim. 435 pages, diagrams, 6 X 9 in. New York, McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1964. Price, $18.50. This book is particularly timely in that it covers some aspects of an active field which does not appear to have been treated in any of the standard "reviews" series. Nine authors: Harry Bloom, J. O'M. Bockris, John D. Corbett, Frederick R. Duke, Tormod Forland, Dieter Gruen, Herbert A. Laitinen, Robert A. Osteryoung, and the editor, have contributed to the seven chapters. The authors, although geographically scattered (from Tasmania to Norway), are to be commended for adopting a particular point of view and sticking to it. The title "Fused
57
B o o k Reviews
Salts" is general; but the book deals primarily with the physical chemistry of fused salts--it would have been desirable to indicate this in a subtitle. Each of the seven chapters is followed by an excellent bibliography which emphasizes the current and modern literature and gives only a few references such as: Stokes (1850), Nernst (1888) or Einstein (1908) which are mainly of historical interest. Chapter I, "Structural Aspects of Ionic Liquids," develops and discusses various models of ionic liquids and relates experimental determinations of viscosity, transport and thermodynamic quantities to the model. Solutions are discussed in consistent terms ; the identification of the entities dissolved brings up spectral considerations; and a discussion of polyanions and the lifetime of complexes introduces the subject of kinetics. Thus, although this chapter deals ostensibly with structure, it also gives a fine preview of material to be covered in more detail later in the book. For example, disorder and vacancies are qualitatively related to the model in chapter I, while the statistical mechanics of these concepts is more fully developed in chapter II. An important theme, touched on briefly in the first two chapters and treated in extenso in the third, is the application of irreversible thermodynamics to the analysis of both transport phenomena and static E M F measurements in fused salt systems. This reviewer found the discussion in chapter I I I both interesting and informative; however, since the viscous properties of the melt are hardly treated at all, it might have been better to base the mathematical development on a version of the dissipation function more specialized than equation (3-8). The elegant notation used on page 169 may prevent some readers from discovering the excellent discussion which follows; and, in any case, (3-8), and (3-93) appear to be inconsistent. In contrast to the tendency of the earlier chapters to dwell on theoretical analysis, the last four tend more to be surveys of their respective fields. In chapter IV, the general principles that are useful in diagnosing electrode phenomena are reviewed and studies associated with the kinetics of the electrode/ melt interface are summarized. Chapter V surveys our present knowledge of the infra-red absorption spectra of transition metal ions in fused salt solutions, while chapter VI de-
58
scribes the current knowledge of solubilities of metals in their salts. The book concludes with a brief chapter on the new field of chemi. cal reaction kinetics in fused salts. Taken all in all, this is a useful book which provides an introduction to the field; a valuable summary of what has been done in certain areas of fused salt chemistry; and a sound basis for further numerical and theoretical analysis. L. H. SHAFFER American Machine and Foundry Co. Stamford, Connecticut CHEMISTRYIN ENGINEERING,by L. A. Munro. 460 pages, diagrams, illustrations, 6 X 9 in. Englewood Cliffs, N. J., Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1964. Price, $9.75. In his preface, author Munro indicates that this is a book for students or graduate engineers whose major interest is not chemistry or chemical engineering. It is a work based on a lecture course for second year engineering students on the very broad subject of chemistry in engineering. The material is briefly and informally presented ; the author freely mixes technology, slang and insipid poetry. Most chapters end with review questions or problems and poetry, e.g., There was a young chemist who tried To make an explosive--(he died);--.
One can only hope his students shared the author's sense of humor and left with the conclusion that when in doubt on such matters, get qualified help. There are twenty-three chapters and an appendix on surface tension. Chapter headings are a litany of chemistry including solid fuels, crude oil, gasolines, nuclear fuels, corrosion, antifreeze, explosives, etc. The text is liberally endowed with photographs of commercial equipment, tabular data and graphs. Chapter 20, "Water for Domestic Use," may be examined as a typical presentation. Elementary characteristics and quality statements introduce the subject. This includes a mention of turbidity based on either Standard Methods or ASTM Manual procedure. However, it is not clear since these two references are garbled together in a footnote, and the dates or editions cited, in either case, are two editions behind times for a 1964 publication. A subsequent section on steriliza-
J'ournal of The Franklin Institute
Radio Corporation of America Princeton, New Jersey TELECOMMUNICATION SATELLITES, edited by Kenneth W. Gatland. 441 pages, diagrams, illustrations, 6 X 9 in. Englewood Cliffs, N. J., Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1964. Price, $14.50. Ken Gatland's latest book can be regarded as an international symposium on communication satellites; it includes American, British and French papers. About one-third of the volume is devoted to experimental programs, about one-sixth to equipment design, and the rest to overall or system problems. The experimental programs described are Courier, Telstar, Relay and Syncom: in each
VoL 279, No. I, January 1965
case the authors have been closely associated with the programs. Design goals, experiments and results are covered, with sufficient diagrams, drawings and photographs included to give a good view of both space and communication practices and results. Equipments considered include the ground terminals, power supply and propulsion. System aspects discussed include orbit choice and economics of satellite communication which is covered in some detail. Two overall system studies are included, together with a visualization of future developments. The volume is historically important, in that it assembles data on experimental programs into a convenient and usable form, however, it is regrettable that a more extensive bibliography of reports on these experiments is not included. The system studies are instructive, and the discussion of system problems is basic to the overall problem of satellite communications, but it cannot be considered as comprehensive. The communication engineer who wishes to become familiar with problems and progress of communications satellites will find this volume most instructive. The space engineer will find it equally useful, but is cautioned that much reading of the references is necessary to become adequately familiar with communications aspects. Finally, the general reader will find this volume an excellent and understandable introduction to the problem. R. P. HAVILAND
General Electric Company Valley Forge, Pennsylvania FUSED SALTS,edited by Benson R. Sundheim. 435 pages, diagrams, 6 X 9 in. New York, McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1964. Price, $18.50. This book is particularly timely in that it covers some aspects of an active field which does not appear to have been treated in any of the standard "reviews" series. Nine authors: Harry Bloom, J. O'M. Bockris, John D. Corbett, Frederick R. Duke, Tormod Forland, Dieter Gruen, Herbert A. Laitinen, Robert A. Osteryoung, and the editor, have contributed to the seven chapters. The authors, although geographically scattered (from Tasmania to Norway), are to be commended for adopting a particular point of view and sticking to it. The title "Fused
57
B o o k Reviews
Salts" is general; but the book deals primarily with the physical chemistry of fused salts--it would have been desirable to indicate this in a subtitle. Each of the seven chapters is followed by an excellent bibliography which emphasizes the current and modern literature and gives only a few references such as: Stokes (1850), Nernst (1888) or Einstein (1908) which are mainly of historical interest. Chapter I, "Structural Aspects of Ionic Liquids," develops and discusses various models of ionic liquids and relates experimental determinations of viscosity, transport and thermodynamic quantities to the model. Solutions are discussed in consistent terms ; the identification of the entities dissolved brings up spectral considerations; and a discussion of polyanions and the lifetime of complexes introduces the subject of kinetics. Thus, although this chapter deals ostensibly with structure, it also gives a fine preview of material to be covered in more detail later in the book. For example, disorder and vacancies are qualitatively related to the model in chapter I, while the statistical mechanics of these concepts is more fully developed in chapter II. An important theme, touched on briefly in the first two chapters and treated in extenso in the third, is the application of irreversible thermodynamics to the analysis of both transport phenomena and static E M F measurements in fused salt systems. This reviewer found the discussion in chapter I I I both interesting and informative; however, since the viscous properties of the melt are hardly treated at all, it might have been better to base the mathematical development on a version of the dissipation function more specialized than equation (3-8). The elegant notation used on page 169 may prevent some readers from discovering the excellent discussion which follows; and, in any case, (3-8), and (3-93) appear to be inconsistent. In contrast to the tendency of the earlier chapters to dwell on theoretical analysis, the last four tend more to be surveys of their respective fields. In chapter IV, the general principles that are useful in diagnosing electrode phenomena are reviewed and studies associated with the kinetics of the electrode/ melt interface are summarized. Chapter V surveys our present knowledge of the infra-red absorption spectra of transition metal ions in fused salt solutions, while chapter VI de-
58
scribes the current knowledge of solubilities of metals in their salts. The book concludes with a brief chapter on the new field of chemi. cal reaction kinetics in fused salts. Taken all in all, this is a useful book which provides an introduction to the field; a valuable summary of what has been done in certain areas of fused salt chemistry; and a sound basis for further numerical and theoretical analysis. L. H. SHAFFER American Machine and Foundry Co. Stamford, Connecticut CHEMISTRYIN ENGINEERING,by L. A. Munro. 460 pages, diagrams, illustrations, 6 X 9 in. Englewood Cliffs, N. J., Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1964. Price, $9.75. In his preface, author Munro indicates that this is a book for students or graduate engineers whose major interest is not chemistry or chemical engineering. It is a work based on a lecture course for second year engineering students on the very broad subject of chemistry in engineering. The material is briefly and informally presented ; the author freely mixes technology, slang and insipid poetry. Most chapters end with review questions or problems and poetry, e.g., There was a young chemist who tried To make an explosive--(he died);--.
One can only hope his students shared the author's sense of humor and left with the conclusion that when in doubt on such matters, get qualified help. There are twenty-three chapters and an appendix on surface tension. Chapter headings are a litany of chemistry including solid fuels, crude oil, gasolines, nuclear fuels, corrosion, antifreeze, explosives, etc. The text is liberally endowed with photographs of commercial equipment, tabular data and graphs. Chapter 20, "Water for Domestic Use," may be examined as a typical presentation. Elementary characteristics and quality statements introduce the subject. This includes a mention of turbidity based on either Standard Methods or ASTM Manual procedure. However, it is not clear since these two references are garbled together in a footnote, and the dates or editions cited, in either case, are two editions behind times for a 1964 publication. A subsequent section on steriliza-
J'ournal of The Franklin Institute