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Physics in industry. Lectures before the Institute of Physics
438
Boo~ REVIEWS.
[J. F. I.
VII Laws of radiation; VIII Fundamentals of colorlmetry, white light; I X Resum6 of definitions. Bibliography. The first volume of this extensive series augurs well for a real advance in the literature of photometry. LUCIEN E. PICOLET. SCIENTIFIC PARADOXES AND PROBLEMS AND THEIR SOLUTIONS. By A. S. E. Ackermann, B.Sc. (Eng.). With introduction b y C. V. Boys, F.R.S. I3I pages, I2mo. London, The Old Westminster Press, 1925 . Price, 5 s. Etymology would not help one much in interpreting the word " p a r a d o x " for both its root words have many meanings. " P a r a " may mean among other things " b e s i d e " and " b e y o n d . " Chemists know it well in the latter sense. " D o x a " may be "opinion," "expression" and in the oft-quoted chapter in I Corinthians it is rendered " g l o r y " ( " F o r star differs from star in glory"). The Greek philosophers delighted in paradoxes and several of them including Achilles and the tortoise and the paradox of motion have been puzzling modern minds for a long while. In this book, many peculiar problems have been collected, the solutions being given in most cases. A few have been left to the ingenuity of the reader. M a n y will find amusement; a cynic will be inclined to ask why any one should h u n t trouble, but the h u m a n mind is restless, and millions have of late been worrying over cross-word puzzles, accumulating at much sacrifice of time, a large stock of useless information. It appears t h a t the subject of the book has been made popular having been broadcast from the London station 2 L O. About a year ago Punch called attention to the letter of a London citizen to The Times, protesting against the smoke nuisance, saying t h a t it is just as bad to throw rubbish into the air as into the street, upon which Punch asked " H a s the B. B. C. heard of t h i s ? " However, the matter of this book does not deserve flippant dismissal, for the author has given much thought to the subject, made an extensive search, and carefully analysed the features of the problems. The a b u n d a n t responses from the broadcasting show the popularity of the topic. HENRY LEFFMANN. PHYSICS IN INDUSTRY. Lectures before the Institute of Physics. By H. E. Wimperis, O.B.E., M.A., F.R.Ae.S. and F. E. Smith, C.B., C.B.E., D.Sc., F.R.S. Vol. 5, 54 pages, 8vo. Oxford University Press, H u m p h r e y Milford, London, Publisher, I927. Price, 2 s. 6d. At first thought it would seem t h a t "physics in i n d u s t r y " would involve nothing unusual, for physics, chemistry and mathematics have been employed therein for many years, but a reading of this volume shows t h a t much interesting and valuable material is presented. The first essay is by the Director of Scientific Research in the Air Ministry. The lecturer dwells on the youthfulness of the science of aviation and deals with the later phases of its development and practical application. The data presented are mostly from the British point of view. The statement t h a t Aeronautics was "launched well in the modern scientific path by the formation some seventeen years ago of the Advisory Committee on Aeronautics" seems hardly fair to the pioneers, especially to Langley, in the study of the conditions under which flying is possible. It was a good deal more t h a n seventeen years ago t h a t Langley began to study scientifically the problems of flight, beginning by studying the physics of air-movement and resistance.
Mar., 1928.]
BOOK R E V I E W S .
439
During the war the Germans showed t h a t they had taken to heart the work of Langley and his successors, for the Allies were much at the mercy of their enemies. Over seven million dollars damage was done in London in a single night by German flyers, and no commensurate damage was done to the German works. The lecture on physics in navigation by Dr. Smith, Director of Scientific Research in the Admiralty, covers a number of topics among which may be noted the new process of deep-sea sounding by the " e c h o " method. The ingenious system of guiding a ship through a narrow channel by the so-called "leader cable" is described, but while in almost all other cases some authority is quoted, this article has no such information. Was the method invented in America, and if so, is this the reason for lack of acknowledgment? H E N R YLEFFMANN. THE CHEMISTRY OF WATER AND SEWAGE TREATMENT. By Arthur M. Buswell, Chief, Illinois State Water Survey, Professor of Sanitary Chemistry, University of Illinois. American Chemical Society Monograph Series. 362 pages, illustrations, 8vo. New York, The Chemical Catalog Company, Inc., 1928. Price, $7. Sewage disposal is a problem which is scarcely less important in sanitary engineering t h a n any problem now before applied chemistry. The present book is broader t h a n mere discussion of sewage disposal methods for it includes very much information on the industrial uses of water, in fact this portion of the book is about half its extent. The text goes even further, since a very considerable amount of space is devoted to the present-day chemistry including even a chapter on the structure of atoms and the theory of valency. How far this portion is advisable is a question. Undoubtedly the modern theories of physical chemistry, the principles of colloidal action, the effects of varying hydrion concentration, and other developments of the newer chemistry have direct applications to practical purposes. It is a question, however, whether the chemist working in the applied phases of the science will care to take up these more abstruse problems. It would seem t h a t a hydraulic engineer or one engaged in sanitary operations on the large scale such as the management of the water supply and sewage disposal of a large city or the consulting engineer for industrial plants in which water is used for a great variety of purposes often of very different requirements, will be disposed to deal with the practical material before him and give but little attention to the question as whether, for instance, the water molecule is H~O or some multiple thereof. We must not decry pure science especially in view of the fact t h a t the vast majority of t h e community looks upon it with some indifference or even disrespect. It is by the cooperative cultivation of theory and practice t h a t we make our substantial progress but so great has the specialism in these lines been developed in recent years and so extensive has become the field of study t h a t there must be separation of the workers and a certain portion must take up the theoretical investigation and another portion must carry out the practical applications. The utilization of both fields of study will be accomplished mostly by joint action of the two classes. The book is very thorough in its t r e a t m e n t of the subject. The first portion relating to theoretical questions is well written and though in some places decidedly relying upon the higher mathematics, it will give the sanitary engineer a great deal of information. Methods of water t r e a t m e n t for industrial purposes are
Boo~ REVIEWS.
[J. F. I.
VII Laws of radiation; VIII Fundamentals of colorlmetry, white light; I X Resum6 of definitions. Bibliography. The first volume of this extensive series augurs well for a real advance in the literature of photometry. LUCIEN E. PICOLET. SCIENTIFIC PARADOXES AND PROBLEMS AND THEIR SOLUTIONS. By A. S. E. Ackermann, B.Sc. (Eng.). With introduction b y C. V. Boys, F.R.S. I3I pages, I2mo. London, The Old Westminster Press, 1925 . Price, 5 s. Etymology would not help one much in interpreting the word " p a r a d o x " for both its root words have many meanings. " P a r a " may mean among other things " b e s i d e " and " b e y o n d . " Chemists know it well in the latter sense. " D o x a " may be "opinion," "expression" and in the oft-quoted chapter in I Corinthians it is rendered " g l o r y " ( " F o r star differs from star in glory"). The Greek philosophers delighted in paradoxes and several of them including Achilles and the tortoise and the paradox of motion have been puzzling modern minds for a long while. In this book, many peculiar problems have been collected, the solutions being given in most cases. A few have been left to the ingenuity of the reader. M a n y will find amusement; a cynic will be inclined to ask why any one should h u n t trouble, but the h u m a n mind is restless, and millions have of late been worrying over cross-word puzzles, accumulating at much sacrifice of time, a large stock of useless information. It appears t h a t the subject of the book has been made popular having been broadcast from the London station 2 L O. About a year ago Punch called attention to the letter of a London citizen to The Times, protesting against the smoke nuisance, saying t h a t it is just as bad to throw rubbish into the air as into the street, upon which Punch asked " H a s the B. B. C. heard of t h i s ? " However, the matter of this book does not deserve flippant dismissal, for the author has given much thought to the subject, made an extensive search, and carefully analysed the features of the problems. The a b u n d a n t responses from the broadcasting show the popularity of the topic. HENRY LEFFMANN. PHYSICS IN INDUSTRY. Lectures before the Institute of Physics. By H. E. Wimperis, O.B.E., M.A., F.R.Ae.S. and F. E. Smith, C.B., C.B.E., D.Sc., F.R.S. Vol. 5, 54 pages, 8vo. Oxford University Press, H u m p h r e y Milford, London, Publisher, I927. Price, 2 s. 6d. At first thought it would seem t h a t "physics in i n d u s t r y " would involve nothing unusual, for physics, chemistry and mathematics have been employed therein for many years, but a reading of this volume shows t h a t much interesting and valuable material is presented. The first essay is by the Director of Scientific Research in the Air Ministry. The lecturer dwells on the youthfulness of the science of aviation and deals with the later phases of its development and practical application. The data presented are mostly from the British point of view. The statement t h a t Aeronautics was "launched well in the modern scientific path by the formation some seventeen years ago of the Advisory Committee on Aeronautics" seems hardly fair to the pioneers, especially to Langley, in the study of the conditions under which flying is possible. It was a good deal more t h a n seventeen years ago t h a t Langley began to study scientifically the problems of flight, beginning by studying the physics of air-movement and resistance.
Mar., 1928.]
BOOK R E V I E W S .
439
During the war the Germans showed t h a t they had taken to heart the work of Langley and his successors, for the Allies were much at the mercy of their enemies. Over seven million dollars damage was done in London in a single night by German flyers, and no commensurate damage was done to the German works. The lecture on physics in navigation by Dr. Smith, Director of Scientific Research in the Admiralty, covers a number of topics among which may be noted the new process of deep-sea sounding by the " e c h o " method. The ingenious system of guiding a ship through a narrow channel by the so-called "leader cable" is described, but while in almost all other cases some authority is quoted, this article has no such information. Was the method invented in America, and if so, is this the reason for lack of acknowledgment? H E N R YLEFFMANN. THE CHEMISTRY OF WATER AND SEWAGE TREATMENT. By Arthur M. Buswell, Chief, Illinois State Water Survey, Professor of Sanitary Chemistry, University of Illinois. American Chemical Society Monograph Series. 362 pages, illustrations, 8vo. New York, The Chemical Catalog Company, Inc., 1928. Price, $7. Sewage disposal is a problem which is scarcely less important in sanitary engineering t h a n any problem now before applied chemistry. The present book is broader t h a n mere discussion of sewage disposal methods for it includes very much information on the industrial uses of water, in fact this portion of the book is about half its extent. The text goes even further, since a very considerable amount of space is devoted to the present-day chemistry including even a chapter on the structure of atoms and the theory of valency. How far this portion is advisable is a question. Undoubtedly the modern theories of physical chemistry, the principles of colloidal action, the effects of varying hydrion concentration, and other developments of the newer chemistry have direct applications to practical purposes. It is a question, however, whether the chemist working in the applied phases of the science will care to take up these more abstruse problems. It would seem t h a t a hydraulic engineer or one engaged in sanitary operations on the large scale such as the management of the water supply and sewage disposal of a large city or the consulting engineer for industrial plants in which water is used for a great variety of purposes often of very different requirements, will be disposed to deal with the practical material before him and give but little attention to the question as whether, for instance, the water molecule is H~O or some multiple thereof. We must not decry pure science especially in view of the fact t h a t the vast majority of t h e community looks upon it with some indifference or even disrespect. It is by the cooperative cultivation of theory and practice t h a t we make our substantial progress but so great has the specialism in these lines been developed in recent years and so extensive has become the field of study t h a t there must be separation of the workers and a certain portion must take up the theoretical investigation and another portion must carry out the practical applications. The utilization of both fields of study will be accomplished mostly by joint action of the two classes. The book is very thorough in its t r e a t m e n t of the subject. The first portion relating to theoretical questions is well written and though in some places decidedly relying upon the higher mathematics, it will give the sanitary engineer a great deal of information. Methods of water t r e a t m e n t for industrial purposes are