Physical chemistry, 2nd edition

ignition engines, are dealt with in this comprehensive work by the late Professor Rowland Benson and his colleague at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, N. D. Whitehouse. Both have been deeply involved in industry and universities over the past thirty years in the design, development, research, and teaching problems of internal combustion engines. This involvement has culminated in a most useful compendium of experimental, practical, and theoretical wisdom, which is also a fitting memorial to the work of Rowland Benson. Derek Bradley Astronautics for Peace and Human Progress. Edited by L. G. Napolitano. Pp. 400. f30.00.

Pergamon

Press,

Oxford.

1979.

This volume contains invited papers presented at the XXIXth International Astronautical Congress held in Dubrovnik in October 1978. The title is stated to have been the ‘theme’ of the Congress and was also the subject of the introductory lecture given by a leading Soviet space scientist. However, the other 31 papers are concerned with various technological aspect of space activities. The papers are grouped into five sections and cover current and planned space activities in various countries; detailed descriptions of Spacelab being developed by the European Space Agency for flight on the Space Shuttle; short accounts of the Voyager fly-by missions to Jupiter and Saturn; the planned out-of-ecliptic Solar Polar Mission; and a review of the development of large space power systems. The third group of papers includes reviews of sample results obtained with remote sensing satellites and the fourth group covers technical and other aspects of satellite systems for communication and broadcasting for both domestic and international purposes. The final section contains a small group on miscellaneous topics ranging from ‘undergraduate space research in the shuttle era’ to the description of a crystallisation experiment in space. Although reproduced directly from author typescripts with a consequent lack of uniformity in style, the quality of the printed text, diagrams, and photographs is very satisfactory. The volume provides a useful overview of current space activities. W. J. Granville

Microwaves. Microwave 2nd edition

Beynon

An Introduction to Theory and Techniques,

byA. J. Baden Fuller. Pp. 300. Pergamon Press, Oxford. 19 79. Hard cover f 15.00, flexicoverf 6.50.

There is no doubt that since the printing of the first edition of this book (1969) there have been some major advances in microwaves and thus this second edition is both timely and welcome. One of the attractive features of the book has always been, and is increasingly its breadth of coverage. However, still to retain eight chapters of sound theoretical background on electromagnetic and waveguide (rectangular and cylindrical) theory, transmission line and Smith charts, plus elements of ferrite and plasma effects, is a real bonus. The latter

172

chapters remain essentially as in the first edition, except for some improvements in derivations and presentations, notably in waveguide attenuation and impedance. The most fundamental changes in microwaves have been the moves to solid-state and integration. These aspects are reflected by the inclusion of a chapter on stripline and microstrip which forms a good introduction to the subject plus a rewrite of the oscillators and amplifiers chapter to include a description of some of the many microwave diodes presently in use. In the latter region the treatment is perhaps a little too introductory, with the important F.E.T. receiving only a few lines oftext. This together with the lack of emphasis on integration for system application are the main criticisms. However, the book remains one of the best introductory texts to microwaves with its clear and logical approach being particularly suited for use in higher technical and undergraduate degree courses which cover, but do not specialize, in microwaves. B. G. Evans Annual

Review

of Physical

Chemistry.

Edited by B. S. Rabinovitch, J. M. Schurr and H. L. Strauss. Pp. 632. AnnualReviews Inc., PaloAlto. 1979. $17.50.

Publication of this series of annual reviews began in 1950 and volume 30 maintains admirably its style as a collection of twenty authoritative essays, each a critical survey’in about thirty pages, guiding readers to earlier literature and then concentrating on developments in the previous four or five years. The range of topics presented is very wide, from those bordering upon biology such as and Myoglobin Ligand ‘Haemoglobin and Kinetics’ by L. J. Parkhurst ‘Photosynthesis-The Light Reaction’ by K. Sauer, to much more physical subjects, such as ‘Coherent Transient Effects in Optical Spectroscopy’ by R. L. Shoemaker and ‘Developments in Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure Applied to Chemical Systems’ by D. R. Sandstrom and F. W. Lytle. There are nine articles on various aspects of spectroscopy in this volume, mostly concerned with quite new applications of spectroscopic techniques to the determination of chemical structures. Six articles are concerned with chemical reaction kinetics, of which two are particularly concerned with reactions in the stratosphere: ‘Kinetics of Thermal Gas Reactions’ by F. Kaufman and ‘Modelling Chemical Processes’ by J. S. Chang and W. H. Duewer, indicate the great interest of physical chemists in reactions affecting the protective ozone layer. Two articles on statistical mechanics, ‘Equilibrium Statistical Mechanics of Polar Fluids’ by M. S. Wertheim and ‘Ren6rmalized Kinetic Theory of Dense Fluids’ by S. Yip, together with one on ‘Homogeneous Catalysis in Solution’ by Y. Packer complete the volume. Annual Review of Physical Chemistry meets a continuing need of research workers and senior students, and this volume maintains the excellent standard which they have come to expect. A. Couper

Physical Chemistry, 2nd edition by Arthur W. Adamson. Pp. xxii + 953. Academic Press, New York. 1979. $22.95. The principal changes from the first edition (1973) of this book are the rearrangement of material on wave-mechanics, chemical bonding, and spectroscopy involving a new chapter on molecular orbitals, and more prominent use of SI units with explanations where necessary oftheir relationship with c.g.s. units. Unlike some other textbooks, the subject of chemical kinetics has been divided into separate chapters on the gas phase and on solutions. Conversely, statistical mechanics have been introduced alongside the corresponding thermodynamic treatment, giving a molecular interpretation of macroscopic observations. Surface and colloid chemistry have been spread among several chapters, retaining one special chapter, so that surface tension, the Kelvin equation, and nucleation appear under ‘Liquids and their simple phase equilibria’, for example. The author has separated material which could be omitted at a first reading into ‘Commentary and Notes’ and ‘Special Topics’. There is an abundance of interesting questions graded into ‘Exercises’ (with answers), ‘Problems’ and ‘Special Topics Problems’, and a comprehensive index. This beautifully produced and illustrated book is thoroughly competitive both in content and price, and particularly in this new edition deserves to be more widely used than its predecessor seems to have been in the U.K. A. Couper Physical Metallurgy of Platinum Metals. Edited by E. Savitsky, V. Polyakova, N. Gorina andN. Roshan. Pp. 400. Mir Publishers, Moscow. Distributedby Pergamon Press, Oxford. 1979. f20.00.

The platinum group metals are irreplaceable in many facets of modern technology, and with rapidly escalating prices it is essential that their usage is as economical as possible. It is therefore opportune that this comprehensive review of the physical metallurgy of these metals has recently appeared, being a revised and updated English translation of a monograph which first appeared in Russian about five years ago. Four leading workers from the Metallurgical Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences have contributed to this volume, which includes much original work carried out under their direction. The first three chapters deal essentially with the properties of the pure metals. In addition to a thorough treatment of the physical and mechanical characteristics, detailed accounts are included of single-crystal physical modern and growing and metallographic techniques used in their study. Following a brief resume of alloy theory, about half of the book is devoted to the alloying behaviour of the platinum group metals in both binary and more complex system?. The extraction, fabrication and applications of the metals are also considered briefly. A great deal of valuable information and 522 references are included in this relatively