Lectures in theoretical physics, Vol. III

BOOK NOTES REFERENCE ELECTRODES : Tm,:ORY AND PRACTICE, edited by David J. G. Ives and George J. Janz. 651 pages, diagrams, 6 X 9 in. New York, Academic Press, 1961. Price, $20.00. This new graduate-level text is principally concerned with experimental aspects of electrochemical theory. Reference electrodes are examined from both the mechanistic and thermodynamic viewpoints. No separation is made between theory and experiment; each chapter contains both. After an introductory chapter, eight chapters deal with specific kinds of electrodes--for example, hydrogen, calomel, silver halide, quinhydrone - - a n d the three final chapters cover general topics such as reference electrodes in nonaqueous solutions, biological uses of microelectrodes, and electrodes in fused salt systems. Not the least attractive feature of the book is the extensive list of references appended to each chapter. The vohnne, in addition to its usefulness in filling a gap in graduate texts, will be of interest to research workers. LECTURES IN THEORETICAL PHYSICS, VOL. 11I, edited by Wesley E. Brittin, B. W. Downs and Joanne Downs. 531 pages, diagrams, 6 X 9 in. New York, Interscience Publishers, Inc., 1961. Price, $11.00. Volmne IlI of this series contains lectures delivered at the Sumrner Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of Colorado in 1960. The level of presentation of the eleven lectures lles between t h a t of the textbook and t h a t of the research journal. The wide variety of subjects and the eminence of the contributors are evident from this listing of the papers: "Causality and Dispersion Relations," by Aage Bohr; "Selected Topics in Theoretical Physics," by Victor Weisskopf ; "Statistical Mechanics of Irreversibility," by Robert Zwanzig; " T h e Scattering of Electrons b y Atoms," b y B. L. Moiseiwitsch; "Some Applications of the Generating Func-

tional of the Molecular Distribution Functions," by Melville Green; "Nonequilibrium Statistical Mechanics," by Elliott Montroll; "Quantum Theory of Collision Processes," by R. Haag; "Canonical Commutation Relations in Field Theory and Functional Integration," by R. Haag; "General Theory of Nonequilibrium Phenomena," by Radu Balescu; "Martin-Schwinger Methods in the Many-Body Problem," by Nell Ashby; and "Green's Functions and the Quantum Theory of Fields," by Kurt Symanzik. INTRODUCTION TO ELEMENTARY PARTICLE PrtYSlCS, by R. E. Marshak and E. C. G. Sudarshan. 1nterscience Tracts on Physics and Astronomy # 11, 217 pages, tables. 5} X 8 in. New York, Interscience Publishers, 1961. Price: $2.50 (paper); $4.50 (cloth). This tract concentrates on those aspects of elementary particle physics which do not depend on detailed dynamical calculations. The physical meaning of the various concepts is emphasized and the experimental material is introduced chiefly for illustrative purposes. The book is intended as a brief introduction for the non-expert in theoretical high energy physics.

PHYSICALCHEMISTRY,by Gordon M. Barrow. 684 pages, diagrams, illustrations, 6} X 9', in. New York, McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1961. Price, $8.95. An introductory, undergraduate text, this work deals with all the subjects customarily dealt with, such as thermodynamics, states of matter and kinetics. The author unifies the various subjects by interpretations based on molecular structure and behavior, for he believes t h a t physical chemistry is not a branch of chemistry, but rather a method which is applicable to all branches of chemistry. The text is roughly divided into two parts ; the first deals with situations involving a single or a few molecules at a time, while 333