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The spectroscopy of flames
Book Reviews Formation of Uranium Ore Deposits
International Atomic Energy Agency,
Vienna,
1974, 748 pp,
f 16.40 (paperback) This symposium volume of 43 separate papers is twice the length but four times the price of its predecessor Uranium Exploration Geology (IAEA, 1970) much of which it duplicates. At a price of over L.16 for a paperback this must restrict sales, other than library copies, to the specialized government agencies, academics and mining companies involved in the uranium field. An introductory review paper, more on uranium supply and demand than on ore genesis, is followed by the articles These arranged in six main common theme sections. sections normally have a review paper and are summarized under their headings by reports of Working Groups. Discussion of the separate papers and of the Working Groups is recorded fully. By reading the review articles, the reports and the discussion,an excellent summary of current views and work in the field is obtained. A selected cheaper version of the symposium volume consisting only of the above would suit a much wider audience not only of those involved in geology and metalliferous minerals but also those concerned with mineral economics and the energy crisis. Comparison with the 1970 volume reveals the renewed interest in vein deposits owing to the large new discoveries in Australia, but with a significant change in their interpretation. There is now a convergence of ideas that such hydrothermal bodies are another variety of the sandstonetype deposits formed from local uranium carried in groundwater. A further notable change is that in the section on uranium in quartz-pebble conglomerates (the gold reefs) there is only the review paper which unequivocally accepts the detrital origin of these ores. In spite of its title much of the volume deals with the economics of uranium exploitation and in particular the possible sources of the several million tons required until breeder reactors become commercially operational. With the realization that the sandstone-type deposits will not provide significant additional low-grade reserves increased importance attaches to the quartz-pebble conglomerate deposits and other types of low grade but enormous tonThese latter were mainly identified as syngenetic, nage. either akin to the Swedish Alum shales or the so-called porphyry uranium deposits of magmatic origin exemplified by the politically sensitive R&sing deposit of SW. Africa. Although produced in a variety of type-faces the legibility is excellent and the illustrations clear, with a few photomicrographs in colour, but the binding may not be sufficiently strong. Seven of the papers are in French, two in Spanish, one in Russian (from Roumania) and the rest in English, but all have English Abstracts and discussion. Two notable omissions are any papers from Russia, and a subject index. @dean
The Spectroscopy of Flames A. G. Gaydon, FRS Chapman & Hall, London, 2nd edn, 1974,412
McL. Michie
pp. f8.00
It is unfortunate that spectroscopy has in the past been of such limited use in practical combustion studies. Perhaps this state of affairs has existed because spectroscopists have viewed flames largely as sources of novel spectra or as heat baths for the study of reactions amenable to spectroscopic investigation. There has indeed been a divorce between
300
FUEL,
1975, Vol 54, October
academic flame spectroscopists and those whose interest is in the factors which control the flame itself and who regard flame spectroscopy as peripheral to the mainstream of combustion studies. The second edition of Professor Gaydon’s book attempts to bridge the gap and present flame spectroscopy in a clear and simple way to the newcomer to the field and to the combustion scientist or engineer who, while not being a specialist in spectroscopy, yet wishes to use it as a diagnostic tool. Flame spectroscopy has a few definite and valuable applications in practical flame studies, in particular the measurement of temperature and of concentrations of unstable species. This book deals clearly with both topics and the author puts particular stress on problems of absorption spectroscopy. Although the book makes it very easy for the reader to find the key papers in the scientific literature, the writer feels that perhaps an opportunity has been missed by not providing a clear guide in the book itself to the pitfalls which await the inexperienced in the field in the calculation of concentrationsofradical species from absorption measurements. For example, for even such a familiar species as the hydroxyl radical, mistakes in the normalization of transition probability summations appear in a key paper of the 1950s and in a recent thesis from a flame spectroscopy school. If the experts can make mistakes in this area and end up with wrong concentrations, it seems to the writer that the person most likely to read this book and to try to apply its content to his own problems would benefit from a few worked examples or at least a warning. At the price, the book does seem fairly expensive, but it is probably worth the money as a clear summary of the present state-of-the-art and a useful source of reference. A. Melvin Solar Energy J. A. Duffie and W. A. Beckman John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Chichester, 1975, 386 pp. f8.90 The affiliations of the authors, and their background sources of information, make this one of the best recent authoritative technical treatments of a subject in which interest has increased considerably since 1970. The writing is straightforward and the illustrations are clear and easily understood. The book is restricted to an account of surface absorption of solar energy for immediate conversion to heat and hot water for use in buildings and in absorption coolers. On these subjects the state of knowledge is admirably summarized for use by professional engineers. Nevertheless brief notes are included on wider solar conversion methods, intended to broaden perspectives; e.g. on solar ponds, power production, and solar distillation. The book is broadly divided into chapters grouped within the following themes: (1) background, e.g. the basic physics of solar radiation, (2) heat transfer principles and methods, (3) process and system models, and (4) descriptions of applications, both practical uses and theoretical studies. The mathematical topics are treated at adequate depth without assuming too much specialized knowledge, and informative tabular information is often included. SI units are recommended, and provided at least where design data are recorded. Finally, worked examples on suitable problems are furnished so that the work can also be used as a textbook. The Bibliographies are wide, the index appears to be well thought out, and the price seems very reasonable in present conditions. Thus the book may be welcomed as a standard work on a subject of growing importance. Ian G. C. Dryden
International Atomic Energy Agency,
Vienna,
1974, 748 pp,
f 16.40 (paperback) This symposium volume of 43 separate papers is twice the length but four times the price of its predecessor Uranium Exploration Geology (IAEA, 1970) much of which it duplicates. At a price of over L.16 for a paperback this must restrict sales, other than library copies, to the specialized government agencies, academics and mining companies involved in the uranium field. An introductory review paper, more on uranium supply and demand than on ore genesis, is followed by the articles These arranged in six main common theme sections. sections normally have a review paper and are summarized under their headings by reports of Working Groups. Discussion of the separate papers and of the Working Groups is recorded fully. By reading the review articles, the reports and the discussion,an excellent summary of current views and work in the field is obtained. A selected cheaper version of the symposium volume consisting only of the above would suit a much wider audience not only of those involved in geology and metalliferous minerals but also those concerned with mineral economics and the energy crisis. Comparison with the 1970 volume reveals the renewed interest in vein deposits owing to the large new discoveries in Australia, but with a significant change in their interpretation. There is now a convergence of ideas that such hydrothermal bodies are another variety of the sandstonetype deposits formed from local uranium carried in groundwater. A further notable change is that in the section on uranium in quartz-pebble conglomerates (the gold reefs) there is only the review paper which unequivocally accepts the detrital origin of these ores. In spite of its title much of the volume deals with the economics of uranium exploitation and in particular the possible sources of the several million tons required until breeder reactors become commercially operational. With the realization that the sandstone-type deposits will not provide significant additional low-grade reserves increased importance attaches to the quartz-pebble conglomerate deposits and other types of low grade but enormous tonThese latter were mainly identified as syngenetic, nage. either akin to the Swedish Alum shales or the so-called porphyry uranium deposits of magmatic origin exemplified by the politically sensitive R&sing deposit of SW. Africa. Although produced in a variety of type-faces the legibility is excellent and the illustrations clear, with a few photomicrographs in colour, but the binding may not be sufficiently strong. Seven of the papers are in French, two in Spanish, one in Russian (from Roumania) and the rest in English, but all have English Abstracts and discussion. Two notable omissions are any papers from Russia, and a subject index. @dean
The Spectroscopy of Flames A. G. Gaydon, FRS Chapman & Hall, London, 2nd edn, 1974,412
McL. Michie
pp. f8.00
It is unfortunate that spectroscopy has in the past been of such limited use in practical combustion studies. Perhaps this state of affairs has existed because spectroscopists have viewed flames largely as sources of novel spectra or as heat baths for the study of reactions amenable to spectroscopic investigation. There has indeed been a divorce between
300
FUEL,
1975, Vol 54, October
academic flame spectroscopists and those whose interest is in the factors which control the flame itself and who regard flame spectroscopy as peripheral to the mainstream of combustion studies. The second edition of Professor Gaydon’s book attempts to bridge the gap and present flame spectroscopy in a clear and simple way to the newcomer to the field and to the combustion scientist or engineer who, while not being a specialist in spectroscopy, yet wishes to use it as a diagnostic tool. Flame spectroscopy has a few definite and valuable applications in practical flame studies, in particular the measurement of temperature and of concentrations of unstable species. This book deals clearly with both topics and the author puts particular stress on problems of absorption spectroscopy. Although the book makes it very easy for the reader to find the key papers in the scientific literature, the writer feels that perhaps an opportunity has been missed by not providing a clear guide in the book itself to the pitfalls which await the inexperienced in the field in the calculation of concentrationsofradical species from absorption measurements. For example, for even such a familiar species as the hydroxyl radical, mistakes in the normalization of transition probability summations appear in a key paper of the 1950s and in a recent thesis from a flame spectroscopy school. If the experts can make mistakes in this area and end up with wrong concentrations, it seems to the writer that the person most likely to read this book and to try to apply its content to his own problems would benefit from a few worked examples or at least a warning. At the price, the book does seem fairly expensive, but it is probably worth the money as a clear summary of the present state-of-the-art and a useful source of reference. A. Melvin Solar Energy J. A. Duffie and W. A. Beckman John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Chichester, 1975, 386 pp. f8.90 The affiliations of the authors, and their background sources of information, make this one of the best recent authoritative technical treatments of a subject in which interest has increased considerably since 1970. The writing is straightforward and the illustrations are clear and easily understood. The book is restricted to an account of surface absorption of solar energy for immediate conversion to heat and hot water for use in buildings and in absorption coolers. On these subjects the state of knowledge is admirably summarized for use by professional engineers. Nevertheless brief notes are included on wider solar conversion methods, intended to broaden perspectives; e.g. on solar ponds, power production, and solar distillation. The book is broadly divided into chapters grouped within the following themes: (1) background, e.g. the basic physics of solar radiation, (2) heat transfer principles and methods, (3) process and system models, and (4) descriptions of applications, both practical uses and theoretical studies. The mathematical topics are treated at adequate depth without assuming too much specialized knowledge, and informative tabular information is often included. SI units are recommended, and provided at least where design data are recorded. Finally, worked examples on suitable problems are furnished so that the work can also be used as a textbook. The Bibliographies are wide, the index appears to be well thought out, and the price seems very reasonable in present conditions. Thus the book may be welcomed as a standard work on a subject of growing importance. Ian G. C. Dryden