Additional problems, sets of review ques-
tions, and a few references, mainly to
See https://pubs.acs.org/sharingguidelines for options on how to legitimately share published articles.
Downloaded via UNIV GADJAH MADA on September 5, 2019 at 03:17:38 (UTC).
Behavior of Electrons in Atoms: Struc-
ture, Spectra, and Photochemistry of
It may also be useful for a reference for
high school teachers. The level seems
texts, have been added.
In connection with laboratory experi-
ments 3-16, inclusive and with Appendix
I a total of 73 old problems have been re-
tained and 55 new problems have been
added, the additions ranging 2 to 7 in num-
ber per chapter. Some 83 review ques-
tions have been added in sets ranging
from 2 to 10 per experiment. References
to other textbooks have been added to
half of the experimental sections and one
appendix. Only four journal references
have been added.
There are seven appendices versus five
in the old edition. The two new ones are
on The Single-Pan Balance and on Free
Energy and Cell Potentials. Appendix
V has seven tables of titles: Atomic and
Formula Weights; Relative Density of
Water versus Temperature; Partial Pres-
sure of Water; Solubility Products; Acid
Constants; Complex Constants; Stand-
ard Potentials. The fifth and seventh of
these tables are appreciably expanded over
the ones in the 1961 edition. Appendix
VI deals with equipment and reagents,
and Appendix VII gives answers to the
problems in the book.
A subject Index and a Periodic Table
and the 1961 Table of Atomic Weights
complete the volume.
The experiments require approximately
40 three-hour laboratory periods, and at
the California Institute of Technology
they form the basis of the first two terms
of the general chemistry course, while the
lab work of the third term of the year is
given up to qualitative and semiquantita-
tive experiments. In the first two terms
emphasis is on the quantitative aspects
and the physico-chemical principles of the
experiments, and very little stress is placed
on their quantitative chemical analyti-
cal aspects. The preliminary directions,
Chapters 1-3 are very much at the high-
school level, whereas the principles, though
now incorporated in many general chem-
istry courses and texts, are difficult for
average students of general chemistry.
Students of decidedly above average pro-
ficiency, and well-oriented, are the ones
who would profit most from the approach
that is used in this text.
“General” chemistry now appears to be
assembled largely from elementary physi-
cal chemistry, the physics and chemistry
•of atomic and molecular structure and
items “borrowed” from analytical chem-
istry because, thanks to the efforts of gen-
erations of devoted experimenters and
teachers, these experiments are more in-
teresting and economical than any con-
siderable number that have been devised
for use with general inorganic chemistry
courses in the past. It is a fair question
as to whether students would benefit more
from the present “general” approach, or
by following high school chemistry with
well-organized courses in physical chem-
istry, analytical chemistry, and physics.
However, for those who are committed to
experimentation with the content of a col-
lege “general” chemistry course, this book
merits careful attention.
N. H. Furman
Princeton, New Jersey
62 / Journal of Chemical Education
Atoms
Robin M. Hochstrasser, University of
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. W. A.
Benjamin, Inc., New York, 1964. xii
+ 162 pp. Figs, and tables. 14.5
X 22 cm. Cloth, 33.95; paperbound,
$1.95.
This book is one of a General Chemistry
Monograph Series under the editorship
of Russell Johnsen. The series is stated
to be an experiment in the teaching of
chemistry to provide instructors with a
choice of topics, each of which is written
by an authority in the field in question.
It is recognized by the editor that each
volume deals broadly with its particular
topic and is far more comprehensive than
the coverage permitted in the standard
one-volume text.
The present volume deals with the basis
for the electronic structure of atoms.
Fundamental concepts of quantum theory
are introduced, largely through their
manifestation in spectra. The treatment
is essentially nonmathematical and the
subject matter basically experimental.
Chapter 1 reviews the nature of electro-
magnetic radiation and the basis for ex-
perimental observation of spectra. Ryd-
berg’s modification of Balmer’s formula
and simple energy level diagrams are
discussed. Chapter 2 discusses electron
energies and the photoelectric effect, the
Bohr postulates, the Ritz combination
principle and electron-atom collision ex-
periments.
Chapter 3 treats the diffraction of waves
and interference patterns, the meaning
of angular momentum and an introduc-
tion to quantum mechanics. The wave
representation of the electron and a quali-
tative discussion of the wave mechanical
treatment of the hydrogen atom and the
concept of orbitals are given. Chapters
4 and 5 deal with the Pauli principle and
the electronic structure of atoms; terms,
symbols and states of atoms are discussed
in considerable detail. The general fea-
tures of the spectra of alkali metals and
the alkaline earths are presented.
In Chapters 6 and 7 the author departs
somewhat from what had seemed to be
his main theme to discuss the lifetime of
excited states, and the kinetic theory of
gases, particularly as it relates to colli-
sional processes involving excited atoms.
In Chapter 8 the behavior of atoms in
magnetic fields is considered with a dis-
cussion of the normal and anomalous
Zeeman effects. The final chapter briefly
considers forces between atoms and some
simple molecules.
In general the book is well-written and
should be readily comprehensible to the
better than average general chemistry
student. The author presents useful
introductory and summary sections for
each chapter. The number of problems
and exercises at the ends of the chapters
is relatively small. To this reviewer its
greatest use would seem to be as a refer-
ence for the general chemistry student
who wishes additional information but
who may not have the background to
understand the material in standard In-
troduction to Atomic Physics textbooks.
generally to fall between that of the usual
general chemistry course and the junior
physical chemistry or atomic physics
courses.
N. W". Gregory
University of Washington
Seattle
Nuclear and Radiochemistry
Gerhart Friedlander, Brookhaven
National Laboratory, Upton, New
York, Joseph W. Kennedy, Washington
University, St. Louis, and Julian Mal-
colm Miller, Columbia University. 2nd
ed. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New
York, 1964. xi + 585 pp. Figs, and
tables. 18 X 24.5 cm. $10.75.
This book fills a great need for an up-to-
date, comprehensive textbook for senior
and graduate level courses in nuclear
chemistry and radiochemistry. Its style
is approximately the same as that of the
first edition, which was the standard text-
book in its field for many years. By
selection of chapters, one may easily
emphasize nuclear studies or the use of
radioactivity in chemical investigations.
For example, courses treating the latter
would cover, in addition to a core of about
nine chapters for both types of courses, the
chapter on Tracers in Chemical Applica-
tions, This chapter includes the principles
of the tracer method, several well-chosen
examples of tracer applications, and a dis-
cussion of activation-analysis techniques.
Nearly every section of the book has
been revised. A few obsolete sections
have been omitted and many other
sections added or expanded, resulting in
an increase in volume of about one-fourth.
Two new chapters have been added:
Nuclear Models includes discussions of
nucleon interactions, the shell, collective,
and unified models, and brief mention of
pairing correlations; Nuclear Processes as
Chemical Probes treats the Mossbauer
effect, positronium “chemistry,” and
chemical effects on angular correlations.
One topic not brought up to date is the
prediction of spins of odd-odd nuclides.
Nordheim’s rules are given instead of the
much more accurate Brennan-Bemstein
rules, which are also useful in predicting
odd-odd isomerism.
Several topics are treated in more math-
ematical detail than in the first edition,
for example, the optical and compound-
nucleus models of nuclear reactions.
The discussion of nuclear-spectroscopy
techniques, including the use of Nal and
semiconductor detectors,
pulse-height
analysis, and coincidence techniques, has
been greatly improved.
The choices of subjects to be treated
and the emphasis to be placed on them
represent the only significant source of
controversy' about the book. Un-
fortunately, there is no discussion of
nuclear-structure studies via reactions
such as (d,p), (p,p'), etc. which can often
complement and strengthen results of
decay-scheme experiments. More details
(Continued on page A54)

BOOK REVIEWS
the properties of nuclear vibrational
on
states, which are currently the subject of
intense investigation, should have been
given. The chapter on statistics, although
rigorous, is somewhat disorganized and
contains little information on tests for
goodness-of-fit. There is no discussion of
least-squares fitting techniques, although
they are widely used for resolution of
complex decay curves. Calculations of
nuclear energetics are done in terms of
atomic mass units instead of the more
convenient mass excesses.
The book is remarkably free of errors,
the most serious of which concern delayed-
neutron emitters. The authors incorrectly
state that there are six delayed-neutron
emitters (rather than roughly six half-life
groupings) among the fission products.
The beta-decaying parent nuclide is er-
roneously called the delayed-neutron
emitter instead of precursor. Furthermore,
the authors imply that the ground states of
the daughter nuclides are unstable with
respect to neutron emission.
The problem sets are excellent, with
most requiring considerable judgment, and
are intended as an integral part of any
course which uses the book. The ap-
pendices contain an abundance of useful
data on masses, decay properties, and
cross sections for thermal-neutron re-
actions.
In spite of minor deficiencies, “Nuclear
A54 / Journal of Chemical Education
and Radiochemistry” is a welcome im-
provement over everything in its field.
Glen E. Gordon
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge
Selected Works in Organic Chemistry
A. N. Nesmeyanov, U.S.S.R. Academy
of Sciences. Translated by Avraham
Birron and Z. S. Cole. Macmillan Go.
(a Pergamon Press book), New York,
1963. xvi + 1172 pp. Figs, and ta-
bles. 18 X 24.5 cm. $30.00.
If any example of the catholic nature of
business is needed in the present age, the
fact of an anthology of Russian chem-
istry, translated into English by an Eng-
lish firm, printed in Israel, and distributed
to us by an American firm, can be cited.
Pursuit of the text leaves at least one
reader with the impression that chemistry
is somewhat more provincial.
The volume in question is an abridged
(sic) form of the complete works of A. N.
Nesmeyanov, covering the period from
1929 to 1959. The original Russian ver-
sion, published on the 60th anniversary of
the author, required four volumes. In
sifting these to produce the present Eng-
lish text, most reviews and those articles
dealing with the administration of science
and education, areas of great interest to
Nesmeyanov in his former role as head of
the Academy of Sciences, have unfortu-
nately been deleted.
Reproduced, in translation, are the text
and the experimental sections for approx-
imately 175 papers by Nesmeyanov,
derived from the original literature.
Ninety-eight papers treat “organometallic
chemistry”; 33 treat “elemento-organic
compounds”; and 38 treat “investigations
in organic chemistry.”
Despite the risk of being judged un-
scientific, I submit that this anthology is
fun to read. First, one is faced with a
progression, of history: papers were sub-
mitted from the First Government Uni-
versity, Moscow (1929); Institute of
Plant Protection of the Peoples Health
Commissary (1929); Moscow State Uni-
versity (1933), Laboratory of Organic
Chemistry, NIIUIF (1934); Institute of
Organo-Element Compounds, USSR Acad-
emy of Sciences (1957).
Second, one realizes the inadequacy that
most of us possess relative to our field, in
that we rely on the abstractors for CA to
serve as our window to Russian chemistry.
The clarity and nature of the experimental
sections of this collection make one feel
that we are receiving a distorted view of
Russian chemistry through abstracts.
Third, aside from the historical progress
of one man, there is a view of the progress
of an idea—one can follow the struggle of
science and doctrine related to resonance
in the form of the structural picture of the
C1CH =
CHHgCl compounds from 1947
through the succeeding decade.
Finally, and perhaps most important,
(Continued on page A58)