Ions, electrons and ionizing radiations

Ions, electrons and ionizing radiations

528 BOOK REVIEWS. [J. F. I. emphasis, however, cannot be laid on the many things that laboratory work should accomplish--each of them of as great...

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528

BOOK

REVIEWS.

[J.

F. I.

emphasis, however, cannot be laid on the many things that laboratory work should accomplish--each of them of as great an import as any other. In the past decade it has been common in many cases to meet young engineers in whom there has been evidence that one or more phases of laboratory work have not been as effective as they should be. Some of this has been in report writing, some in the significance of particular basic experiments, some in observation, and some in method of attack to avoid difficulties. The results of laboratory training in school, if done properly, find many applications in engineering practice generally. Any book covering this subject must therefore be viewed as a tool for several purposes. This book on electrical engineering experiments is considerably more than a laboratory manual. It covers the entire field of electric power engineering beginning with information and instructions pertaining to laboratory technique, report writing, theory of instruments, etc., and a special section giving brief explanations of the operating principles of the instruments and meters commonly used in electrical engineering laboratories. Then a section on fundamentals is presented covering such matters as tracing circuits, making measurements of resistance by various methods, study of magnetic circuits, etc. With this as a background, other sections are presented on direct current machines, alternating current circuits, transformers, synchronous machines, induction machines, and electronics which considers some of the fundamental properties of tubes but is devoted in the main’to electronic applications in the power field. A special feature of the work is the inclusion of sufficient information on results which might be obtained from the experimentally determined data and the descriptive matter of the apparatus and instruments used which is often supplemented by instruction on how and what to observe on examination of them. The book is self contained, no other reference work being required. From the standpoint of the instructor it is flexible; each experiment is complete in itself so that a choice of experiments is available to suit different purposes and situations. Including the subject index, there are 500 pages to the book. This gives an indication of the multitude of experiments recorded. There is much to recommend this book for use in schools of engineering, and aside from this many practicing engineers will find it helpful in the way of a reference to subjects not often encountered, as well as to the newer methods and equipment. R. H. OPPERMANN. IONS, ELECTRONS AND IONIZING RADIATIONS, by Seventh Edition, 348 pages, plates, illustrations, Longmans, Green & Co., 1939. Price $4.00.

James Arnold Crowther. 14 X 23 ems. New York,

The subjects covered by this book have been investigated and developed to a tremendous extent in the past three decades, and the results of this work are very Such revelations of great magnievident both in theory and in practical ways. tude have provided inspiration for further work so that it has been practically continuous for some years. The subjects are typical illustrations of the almost constant need for texts in order to keep up-to-date. This book is the seventh edition, which bears evidence of a close following of progress. For the benefit of those who are unfamiliar with previous editions the chapter

Oct.,I9391

BOOK

REVIEWS.

520

headings are as follows: the passage of a current through an ionized gas, the properties of the gaseous ions, the charge of an ion, ionization by collision, the phenomena of the discharge tube, cathode rays and positive rays, emission of rlrctricity by hot bodies, photo-electricity, X-rays, the 01rays, the 0 and y radiations, cosmic radiation, the physics of the nucleus, the structure of the atom, radio-active changes, and radium and its products. The method of presentation is what may be termed descriptive instruction, It is therefore not a coverage of an elementary with equal weight on each word. nature, considerable training in atomic physics as well as mathematics being a necessary prerequisite. For those who are qualified, the book represents an exhaustive effort to bring between two covers material pertinent to the subjects, which has been somewhat scattered, this material presented in an informative In this the work excels. descriptive style. The flavor of a textbook, in the usual sense, is lost in many portions of the This is undoubtedly due to the added material which was necessary treatment. A set of miscelfrom time to time to reflect the modern state of the subject. laneous examples toward the end of the book is a strict reminder of its text They give indication of careful formulation and the answers are provided. nature. A subject index completes the treatment. R. H. OPPERMANN. 'I‘KSTROOK OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY, by E. Wertheim.

plates, *$ 4.00.

16 X 24 ems.

Philadelphia,

P. Blakiston’s

830 pages, illustrations, Son & Co., Inc. Price

This volume of 830 pages seems like a large order for the beginner in organic chemistry but its careful layout and interesting and practical viewpoint make it much less difficult for study than the organic chemistry textbook of twenty years ago. Some points which strike the reviewer as worthy of note are the following: I. Drawings, tables and charts are numerous. 2. References given at the end of each chapter are very thorough, 3. Discussions are given of numerous useful methods and theories not usually found in a book of this type (e.g., calculation of heats of combustion of alcohols by the Kharasch method, p. 109; Free Radicals, p. 391, etc.). 4. Detailed mention of properties of specific compounds is put in tabular form in appendices, where it is more convenient to find and use. And speaking of appendices, these are better than those found in most textbooks, including flow sheets of industrial processes, a list of textbooks, a glossary of terms, a chronological table, a table of derivations of organic compounds, besides a table of melting points, boiling points and solubility data. This book is well printed,, on excellent paper, and should have a long and useful lift. GEORGE

S.

GARDNER.

CHEMICALS AND RELATED MATERIALS, by Thomas C. Gregory. 665 pages, 16 X 24 ems. New York, Reinhold Publishing Corporation. Price $10.00.

USES AND.~PPLICATIONSOF

To quote the author, this book “contains surveys on the uses, potential It applications and sales possibilities of 5167 chemicals and related materials.”