158 BOOK REVIEWS

bution to Heat Transfer at Contacts by E. Fried-20 pages) is a relatively short

contribution on a specialist topic arising from switching problems in electrical
control devices but also present in aircraft structures, a feature not mentioned in the
text and one of importance in high speed aircraft. The final chapter, 6, (Thermal
Conductivity Determinations by Thermal Comparator Methods by R. W. Powell-
60 pages) is devoted to a relatively new technique developed by the contributor
himself. The idea of a thermal comparator stems from gauging the relative coldness
of materials when touched by hand and hence assessingtheir thermal conductivities
qualitatively. The chapter is an account of how the sampling process may be carried
out quantitatively using a metal probe incorporating a differential thermocouple.
The method has been applied to a wide range of substancesincluding liquids and is
clearly a valuable technique for rapid non-destructive testing.
The two volumes include some 1100 references to original works but of these
quite a number are referred to more than once since each chapter carries its own list.
Although these references include certain sources of data the reader will find little
or no information on thermal conductivity values which are normally listed in the
more common reference sources,recalling that these Volumes relate to measurement
techniques. The editor has recognized the problem of units and has opted for
W cm- 1 deg- 19,as a compromise between various hybrids and the dictates of the
SI by which standards, thermal conductivity would be expressed as W m-l K-l.
While uniformity has been maintained in this respect the reviewer found some
difficulty with symbols notwithstanding a list of those more commonly used.
These books are a must for those with a serious interest in thermal conductivity
and constitute good value for money, bearing in mind the many illustrations. In
conclusion it is perhaps appropriate to acknowledge the outstanding contributions
in the general field of Thermal Conductivity of R. W. Powell, with whom the editor,
R. P. Tye, was associatedfor nearly twenty years at the National Physical Laboratory.
Along with their collaborators they have placed a Thermal Conductivity Milestone
for 1969.
E. A. BRUGES

Molecular Thermodynamics of Fluid-Phase Equilibria

Prausnitz, J. M. Prentice-Hall: Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. 1969. xi v+ 523 pp
Price: E7 5s. Od.
The scope of this book cannot better be described than by the following quotation
from the preface. Molecular thermodynamics seeks to overcome some of the
limitations of both classical and statistical thermodynamics. Molecular phase-
equilibrium thermodynamics is concerned with application of molecular physics and
chemistry to the interpretation, correlation, and prediction of the thermodynamic
properties used in phase-equilibrium calculations. It is an engineering science, based
on classical thermodynamics but relying on molecular physics and statistical thermo-
dynamics to supply insight into the behavior of matter. In application, therefore,
 BOOK REVIEWS 159
molecular thermodynamics is rarely exact; it must necessarily have an empirical
flavor.
This middle course between classical and statistical thermodynamics that Professor
Prausnitz has chosen is one that is fraught with danger. Although it is not always
necessary to use the complete apparatus of statistical thermodynamics to deduce
correctly the connection between some macroscopic properties and their molecular
causes,it is all too easy to make the wrong deduction if the property in question is
the result of a delicate balance of forces. Intuition has often been a poor substitute
for soundly based theory in the study of liquid mixtures. It is only fair to say that the
author is clearly aware of these dangers but thinks the risk a necessaryone since, as
an engineer, he must attempt to answer questions which a scientist might well defer
until he was better equipped to tackle them. The thermodynamic properties that he
wishes to predict are chosen from those fields to which he and his colleagues have
contributed so extensively, namely activities in gaseous and liquid mixtures, the
solubility of gasesand solids in liquids, and of liquids and solids in gases.
For those who must have the answersnow, this is the book; those who can wait will
probably find that over much of this field molecular thermodynamics will gradually
be displaced by statistical thermodynamics. However, the provisional nature of this
book is no criticism of its present relevance, nor, indeed, of its excellence.
J. S. ROWLINSON