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The story of a billion years
July, I933.]
BOOK R E V I E W S .
II
9
oxidation of petroleum oils is beset with m a n y difficulties, some excellent pioneering work has been done on an industrial scale. Remember "Aldehol," a particularly obnoxious d e n a t u r a n t of ethyl alcohol. This process m a y prove the future source of soaps, edible fats and cheaper soapless detergents. M a n y synthetic chemical processes require huge quantities of cheap hydrogen and a promising source lies in the partial oxidation of methane possibly direct with oxygen, more probably by using steam. In line with the scope of the book Surface Combustion is allotted a chapter. Particular attention is paid to the several modes of industrial application. As might be expected, the " C a u s e and Suppression of Knocking in Internal Combustion E n g i n e s " is dealt with very fully. The various theories on the mechanism of knock suppression are described and their weak points exposed. About an equal number of explanations on the "Cause of the K n o c k " also exist. Much interesting d a t a on the effects of the various antiknock dopes are included in the chapter which is only complete after due discussion of the various theories on anti-knock action. The oxidation of benzene and its derivatives command special attention since m a n y of the reactions are quite easily controlled and the reaction products enjoy many practical uses, benzaldehyde and benzoic acid especially. In the oxidation of naphthalene we have a cheap source of phthalic anhydride. This process has been highly developed commercially. The oxidation of anthracene to its quinone produces a well-known dye intermediate. The book concludes with a very useful chapter describing various types of plant scale apparatus adapted to the oxidation of organic compounds. Special attention is given to the problem of heat dissipation from the oxidizing chambers. These may involve high-boiling organic liquids, mercury, lead or fused salt baths. General layouts are given for the production of phthalic anhydride, maleic acid, the oxidation of petroleum oils and the oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde. T. K. CLEVELAND. THE STORY OF A BILLION YEARS, by W. O. Hotchkiss, Michigan College of Mining and Technology, I37 pages, maps, I3 ;( 19 cms. Baltimore, The Williams and Wilkins Company, I932. Price $I.OO. W. O. Hotchkiss introduces Geology as the easy science. Possibly this was for the benefit of Edith and Nancy to whom the book is dedicated. Possibly it is a concession to the mobs t h a t will visit the great exposition t h a t has been designed to celebrate a Century of Progress. I am reminded of a remark t h a t escaped the lips of a great geologist: "Oh, so-and-so, he is all right. He is a geologist. All geologists are gentlemen." I am very fond of geology and my respect for those who seriously study the secrets of the earth is very great. There are great secrets, as yet unrevealed. I think the author intended to describe geology as the obvious science. Certainly a part of the lure lies in the fact t h a t one can always read a lesson whether confined to the back-yard or privileged to roam at large on foot, by train or by air. There is always the e a r t h below. The patent illustration of a three-foot canyon guttered by a Michigan stornl hands the key to the reader. The key turns as one moves through the book. Beaches and benches tell their story of ancient water ledges; sedimentary and igneous rocks record their origins. The reference to earthquakes and volcanoes left me a little hungry for a more satisfying explanation, especially for the volcano.
I20
BOOK R E V I E W S .
[J. F. I.
It is, of course, an open secret t h a t the last word has not only not been written about volcanoes, but probably the type-caster has not as yet been born who will shape the lead t h a t will print the final page on this dangerous and seductive subtitle of geology--volcanoes and earthquakes. For a short history of the origin of the earth, its age, the record of life thereon, to be absorbed by a panting patron of the Chicago Fair, ! presume t h a t a brief t r e a t m e n t is required. It reminds me a little of the method used to press nourishment into babies who will not eat, to rub t h e m with a superficial application of olive oil. Even the great Ice Age of the Pleistocene which still lingers on Greenland receives bare treatment, an event in the geology of the North American continent without recent rival. It shaped the great lakes and is responsible for the site of Chicago itself. The city fathers can well blow to a heat when they recall the Ice Age and t h i n k of the Chicago drainage canal. Chapter VIII m a y be most interesting to the casual reader as it tickets the geologic resources we use. Deciduous and all pervasive climate is treated very hastily. The last chapter looks toward the future with longing. The writer is too guarded in expression to startle the Fair with pessimism so he concludes with the pious hope for a better race and "slow progress toward perfection." HOWARD W. ELKINTON. CHEMISTRY TRIUMPHANT, THE RISE AND REIGN OF CHEMISTRY IN A CHEMICAL WORLD, by William J. Hale, Ph.D., I5I pages, illustrations, I8 X I9 eros. Baltimore, The Williams and Wilkins Co., I932. Price $I.OO. It is singularly appropriate t h a t there should be literary support to the exhibition on the shore of Lake Michigan. This book is one of a series t h a t will inform the mind as the splendid and bizarre will inform the eye at Chicago. Dr. Hale is known to a great many people as director of Organic Chemical Research at the Dow Chemical Company. This, if for no other reason, positions him to speak with convincement about the achievements of the child-science chemistry. It is r a t h e r fine t h a t he has dedicated his book to his little daughter R u t h Elizabeth. The chapters in this readable book of only 151 pages are as so many milestones on the highway of chemistry. If one can start on the threshold of a highway the first chapter squarely plants the reader on the doorstep of time. The threshold is a bit wide, in a strict sense, unless it is necessary to take a running start through Sumeria, Egypt, Judea, with a nod to God en passant, across Greece, scaling Rome, back again to Arabia in order to reach an intellectuo- and physico-genesis in England. The chemico-genesis especially as marked by the development of the synthetic dye industry is assigned to Germany. It must be very difficult if not impossible to write any book describing the lusty growth of chemistry without plunging into the great war. Dr. Hale submits to this temptation. He redeems the diabolic grimace of chemical warfare by two intriguing chapters " N a t u r e Reveals Herself" and "Chemical Insight Dawns." Immediately upon the heels of this "rosy-fingered" dawn according to the Greeks, came the chemical revolution, a revolution t h a t is still going on in our daily life, before our naked eyes. The rest of the book treats with the influence of chemistry in mining, agriculture and transportation.
BOOK R E V I E W S .
II
9
oxidation of petroleum oils is beset with m a n y difficulties, some excellent pioneering work has been done on an industrial scale. Remember "Aldehol," a particularly obnoxious d e n a t u r a n t of ethyl alcohol. This process m a y prove the future source of soaps, edible fats and cheaper soapless detergents. M a n y synthetic chemical processes require huge quantities of cheap hydrogen and a promising source lies in the partial oxidation of methane possibly direct with oxygen, more probably by using steam. In line with the scope of the book Surface Combustion is allotted a chapter. Particular attention is paid to the several modes of industrial application. As might be expected, the " C a u s e and Suppression of Knocking in Internal Combustion E n g i n e s " is dealt with very fully. The various theories on the mechanism of knock suppression are described and their weak points exposed. About an equal number of explanations on the "Cause of the K n o c k " also exist. Much interesting d a t a on the effects of the various antiknock dopes are included in the chapter which is only complete after due discussion of the various theories on anti-knock action. The oxidation of benzene and its derivatives command special attention since m a n y of the reactions are quite easily controlled and the reaction products enjoy many practical uses, benzaldehyde and benzoic acid especially. In the oxidation of naphthalene we have a cheap source of phthalic anhydride. This process has been highly developed commercially. The oxidation of anthracene to its quinone produces a well-known dye intermediate. The book concludes with a very useful chapter describing various types of plant scale apparatus adapted to the oxidation of organic compounds. Special attention is given to the problem of heat dissipation from the oxidizing chambers. These may involve high-boiling organic liquids, mercury, lead or fused salt baths. General layouts are given for the production of phthalic anhydride, maleic acid, the oxidation of petroleum oils and the oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde. T. K. CLEVELAND. THE STORY OF A BILLION YEARS, by W. O. Hotchkiss, Michigan College of Mining and Technology, I37 pages, maps, I3 ;( 19 cms. Baltimore, The Williams and Wilkins Company, I932. Price $I.OO. W. O. Hotchkiss introduces Geology as the easy science. Possibly this was for the benefit of Edith and Nancy to whom the book is dedicated. Possibly it is a concession to the mobs t h a t will visit the great exposition t h a t has been designed to celebrate a Century of Progress. I am reminded of a remark t h a t escaped the lips of a great geologist: "Oh, so-and-so, he is all right. He is a geologist. All geologists are gentlemen." I am very fond of geology and my respect for those who seriously study the secrets of the earth is very great. There are great secrets, as yet unrevealed. I think the author intended to describe geology as the obvious science. Certainly a part of the lure lies in the fact t h a t one can always read a lesson whether confined to the back-yard or privileged to roam at large on foot, by train or by air. There is always the e a r t h below. The patent illustration of a three-foot canyon guttered by a Michigan stornl hands the key to the reader. The key turns as one moves through the book. Beaches and benches tell their story of ancient water ledges; sedimentary and igneous rocks record their origins. The reference to earthquakes and volcanoes left me a little hungry for a more satisfying explanation, especially for the volcano.
I20
BOOK R E V I E W S .
[J. F. I.
It is, of course, an open secret t h a t the last word has not only not been written about volcanoes, but probably the type-caster has not as yet been born who will shape the lead t h a t will print the final page on this dangerous and seductive subtitle of geology--volcanoes and earthquakes. For a short history of the origin of the earth, its age, the record of life thereon, to be absorbed by a panting patron of the Chicago Fair, ! presume t h a t a brief t r e a t m e n t is required. It reminds me a little of the method used to press nourishment into babies who will not eat, to rub t h e m with a superficial application of olive oil. Even the great Ice Age of the Pleistocene which still lingers on Greenland receives bare treatment, an event in the geology of the North American continent without recent rival. It shaped the great lakes and is responsible for the site of Chicago itself. The city fathers can well blow to a heat when they recall the Ice Age and t h i n k of the Chicago drainage canal. Chapter VIII m a y be most interesting to the casual reader as it tickets the geologic resources we use. Deciduous and all pervasive climate is treated very hastily. The last chapter looks toward the future with longing. The writer is too guarded in expression to startle the Fair with pessimism so he concludes with the pious hope for a better race and "slow progress toward perfection." HOWARD W. ELKINTON. CHEMISTRY TRIUMPHANT, THE RISE AND REIGN OF CHEMISTRY IN A CHEMICAL WORLD, by William J. Hale, Ph.D., I5I pages, illustrations, I8 X I9 eros. Baltimore, The Williams and Wilkins Co., I932. Price $I.OO. It is singularly appropriate t h a t there should be literary support to the exhibition on the shore of Lake Michigan. This book is one of a series t h a t will inform the mind as the splendid and bizarre will inform the eye at Chicago. Dr. Hale is known to a great many people as director of Organic Chemical Research at the Dow Chemical Company. This, if for no other reason, positions him to speak with convincement about the achievements of the child-science chemistry. It is r a t h e r fine t h a t he has dedicated his book to his little daughter R u t h Elizabeth. The chapters in this readable book of only 151 pages are as so many milestones on the highway of chemistry. If one can start on the threshold of a highway the first chapter squarely plants the reader on the doorstep of time. The threshold is a bit wide, in a strict sense, unless it is necessary to take a running start through Sumeria, Egypt, Judea, with a nod to God en passant, across Greece, scaling Rome, back again to Arabia in order to reach an intellectuo- and physico-genesis in England. The chemico-genesis especially as marked by the development of the synthetic dye industry is assigned to Germany. It must be very difficult if not impossible to write any book describing the lusty growth of chemistry without plunging into the great war. Dr. Hale submits to this temptation. He redeems the diabolic grimace of chemical warfare by two intriguing chapters " N a t u r e Reveals Herself" and "Chemical Insight Dawns." Immediately upon the heels of this "rosy-fingered" dawn according to the Greeks, came the chemical revolution, a revolution t h a t is still going on in our daily life, before our naked eyes. The rest of the book treats with the influence of chemistry in mining, agriculture and transportation.