- Email: [email protected]
Inorganic chemistry
BOOK REVIEWS INORGANICCHEMISTRY,b y Therald Moeller.
966 pages, diagrams, 16X23 cm. New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1952. Price, $10.00. Although inorganic chemistry is one of the oldest of the experimental sciences, there are not m a n y good advanced texts available. In part, this is due to the fact t h a t a real knowledge of how atomic structure governs chemical properties has been developed only recently. M a n y good and comprehensive collections of the data have been written, b u t few texts have tried to organize and understand these data in terms oi~ the underlying principles. MoeIler's book does have this approach, and would be welcomed on this account alone, even if it were not an excellent book in other respects. It is divided into two parts, entitled "Principles," and " T h e Chemical Elements," respectively. In Part One, the physical principles t h a t govern chemical behavior are set forth. These principles are drawn from up-to-date q u a n t u m theory of the electronic structure of the atom. A very nice short section describes the history of the periodic table, a n d then shows how this periodic arrangement follows directly from the electronic configurations of the atoms. In two more chapters, data on the physical and chemical (that is, valence) regularities among the elements, as derivable from these principles, are discussed. A t the end of Part One are four more or less miscellaneous chapters, covering complex ions and coordination compounds, oxidation-reduction chemistry, acids and bases, and non-aqueous solvents. A special effort has been made to organize the material on complex ions and coordination compounds. In Part Two, the chemical properties of the elements are arranged classically, as in the periodic table. A chapter each is given to the inert gases, to hydrogen, and to the Group I and II metals. The b subgroups (the non-transition elements) of each family from III to VII are given a chapter each, while the transition and inner transition elements are each treated as a unit. Two appendices, on the properties of the naturally occurring isotopes and on members of the radioactive series, a subject and an author index are included. The subject matter in these chapters on the chemical properties of specific groups of elements appears to be quite complete and up-to-date. Combined with the simple arrangement of the book, this gives it the character of an excellent reference book. Since it is quite thoroughly annotated, it should also be an excellent source of further reading. Within each group of elements, stress is laid upon the way in which the elements are related to and yet different from each other. These relationships are in turn shown to be due to the underlying atomic structures. A t every possible opportunity, these principles are used to make the empirical data understandable and logical. This close connection between theory a n d data should make this also an excellent text for graduate courses in inorganic chemistry. Taken as a whole, it is a fine book, and a welcome addition to this reviewer's shelf. ALAN D. FRANKLIN
DIRECT CURRENT MACHINES FOR CONTROLSYSTEMS, by A. Tustin.
306 pages, tables and diagrams, 14X22 cm. New York, The Macmillan Company, 1952. Price, $10.00. Printed in Great Britain and written by Professor Tustin of the Electrical Engineering D e p a r t m e n t of Birmingham University, this new book is apropos of the times in which electrical control systems are coming into universal application throughout industry and are used widely in the vehicles of commerce. As implied by the book's title, nine of its ten chapters deal exclusively with direct current rotating machines. The emphasis is, however, carefully placed upon "quickness of response" and those characteristics of rotating machines which are important in control systems rather than in electric power generation. The detail with which this subject is treated includes the fine points of machine design exemplified by air-gap grading. In each case the author presents a mathematical analysis of the operating parameter variations t h a t result from such a design. Analytical methods for determining time constants of the windings of d-c. machines are I53
966 pages, diagrams, 16X23 cm. New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1952. Price, $10.00. Although inorganic chemistry is one of the oldest of the experimental sciences, there are not m a n y good advanced texts available. In part, this is due to the fact t h a t a real knowledge of how atomic structure governs chemical properties has been developed only recently. M a n y good and comprehensive collections of the data have been written, b u t few texts have tried to organize and understand these data in terms oi~ the underlying principles. MoeIler's book does have this approach, and would be welcomed on this account alone, even if it were not an excellent book in other respects. It is divided into two parts, entitled "Principles," and " T h e Chemical Elements," respectively. In Part One, the physical principles t h a t govern chemical behavior are set forth. These principles are drawn from up-to-date q u a n t u m theory of the electronic structure of the atom. A very nice short section describes the history of the periodic table, a n d then shows how this periodic arrangement follows directly from the electronic configurations of the atoms. In two more chapters, data on the physical and chemical (that is, valence) regularities among the elements, as derivable from these principles, are discussed. A t the end of Part One are four more or less miscellaneous chapters, covering complex ions and coordination compounds, oxidation-reduction chemistry, acids and bases, and non-aqueous solvents. A special effort has been made to organize the material on complex ions and coordination compounds. In Part Two, the chemical properties of the elements are arranged classically, as in the periodic table. A chapter each is given to the inert gases, to hydrogen, and to the Group I and II metals. The b subgroups (the non-transition elements) of each family from III to VII are given a chapter each, while the transition and inner transition elements are each treated as a unit. Two appendices, on the properties of the naturally occurring isotopes and on members of the radioactive series, a subject and an author index are included. The subject matter in these chapters on the chemical properties of specific groups of elements appears to be quite complete and up-to-date. Combined with the simple arrangement of the book, this gives it the character of an excellent reference book. Since it is quite thoroughly annotated, it should also be an excellent source of further reading. Within each group of elements, stress is laid upon the way in which the elements are related to and yet different from each other. These relationships are in turn shown to be due to the underlying atomic structures. A t every possible opportunity, these principles are used to make the empirical data understandable and logical. This close connection between theory a n d data should make this also an excellent text for graduate courses in inorganic chemistry. Taken as a whole, it is a fine book, and a welcome addition to this reviewer's shelf. ALAN D. FRANKLIN
DIRECT CURRENT MACHINES FOR CONTROLSYSTEMS, by A. Tustin.
306 pages, tables and diagrams, 14X22 cm. New York, The Macmillan Company, 1952. Price, $10.00. Printed in Great Britain and written by Professor Tustin of the Electrical Engineering D e p a r t m e n t of Birmingham University, this new book is apropos of the times in which electrical control systems are coming into universal application throughout industry and are used widely in the vehicles of commerce. As implied by the book's title, nine of its ten chapters deal exclusively with direct current rotating machines. The emphasis is, however, carefully placed upon "quickness of response" and those characteristics of rotating machines which are important in control systems rather than in electric power generation. The detail with which this subject is treated includes the fine points of machine design exemplified by air-gap grading. In each case the author presents a mathematical analysis of the operating parameter variations t h a t result from such a design. Analytical methods for determining time constants of the windings of d-c. machines are I53