Dictionary of organic compounds, fourth ... - ACS Publications

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book reviews

of British chemistry and a. man of considerable influence. He had taken secondclass honors in mathematicties in Balliol llomey pvesents a short background of the College in 1838, dabbled in law in his what,, why, and how of Schwab's "invitauncle's chambers in London, then studied tions," and then invites the teacher himchemistry with Liehig a t Giessen. His self to prepare and try out the technique. work on beeswax established the existence Part I1 is a seleotion of readings from of solid dclcohols homologous with the professional science education journals known fluid alcohols. In his private labwhich have s, deliberate bias toward oratory in London he taught chemistry learning science by discovery. The readand initiated research on peroxides which, ings are grouped topically; they reflect in 1863 a t Oxford, culminated in the the best current thinking by recognized discovery of explosive organic peroxides. experts. Brodie was n. believer in atoms during Romey states in the preface that the the early part of his career but by the hook can he used by. undergraduates, time chemists were applying Avogadro's graduate students, and by practicing hypothesis and making an effort to create teachers. The undergraduate will benefit a structural chemistry Brodie had serious least from the book, due mainly to the misgivings about the place of the atomic lack of classroom experience. The gradtheory in chemistry. In 1866 he puhuate student, often a practicing teacher, lished the first part of his "Calculus of can derive great benefit by attempting Chemical Operations," a subject which he some of the activities to extend his techamplified during the next decade. Alnique and style repertory. though his philosophical positivism cansed The mzin message of the book urges the him to reject atoms, he could not deny science teacher to broaden his effectivethe importance of equivalent weights. ness, to take advvantage of the attitude He sought to dwelop s. mathematical that brought him into science and science treatment for ohemical operations, reteaching: to ezperiment! jecting chemical symbols but creating a JOSEPHS. SCHMVCKLEB mathem&ctical symbolism of his own. Brodie, like other anti-atomists, felt that Departmat of Seiaee Education mathematical laws should thke the place Temple University of causal explanations. There was dso a. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania lack of faith in entities which are unobservable. The CHEM Study Story This book, consisting of two papers, The Atomic Debates by Brock and I). M. Richard J . Mewill and David W . RidgKnight, and The Chemical Caleuhm of way, both of the University of CaliforSir Benjamin nrodie by D. M. 1)allm; nia, Berkeley. Foreword by Glenn T. Seaborg, U.S.A.E.C. W. H. Freeman and 162 Co., San Francisco, 1969. xi pp. Figs. and tables. 16 X 24 cm. $2.50.

phis a collection of letter8 between Brock and, among others, Odling, Williamson, JohnHershel, Hofmann, and Crum Brown; and an appendix by Brack on Comte, Williamson and Brodie, is a perceptive case study of a eul de sac in the history of chemistry. Despite the fact that Brodie's chemical calculus proved unfruitful in the development of chemistry, this study is a worthy one for i t helps to reveal the true nature of science. All too often students gain the impression that science is a glorious series of success stories. Occasionally looking a t the failures helps to reveal the way in which understanding of science really develops. This study shows Brodie not to be a fool hut quite sound in the position he espoused at the time.

J. IHDE AARON University of Wisconsin Madison

Dictionary of Organic Compounds, Fourlh Supplement, 1968

Edited by R. Skuens. 4th ed. Oxford University Press, New York, 1968. 248pp. 20.5 X 27 cm. $24. The Fourth Supplement incorporates new material published in and before 1967 with the majority of entries being derived from papers published in 1967. The nomenclature used for lipids and for modified and synthetic polypeptides con-

(Continued on page A63Z)

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Seldom is a project a worthy subject for a biography. The magnitude of the CHEM Study effort would almost he a sufficientlyvalid reason for miting such a book. The subseqnent effect of the program on secondary education confirms the value of this record of how the project was accomplished. It is an "inside" story, hut told with candor and restraint. Though some may object to the number of times the adjective "enthusiastic" appears, any who were involved know how truly it can be applied. The reader will find both anecdotes and facts. Almost half the volume is devoted to appendixes, much of it tabular information. The many individuals who contributed portions of their professional lives to the creation of CHEM Study will be eager readers. Any who contemplate a participation in a similar curriculum revision ought to he.

The Atomic Debater. Brodie and the Rejection of the Atomic Theory

Edited by W. H. Broek, University of Leicester, England. Leicester Uni186 pp. 14.5 versity Press, 1967. ix X 22 cm. $4.90.

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As Professor of Chemistry s t Oxford from 1855 to 1872, Benjamin Collins Brodie (1817-80) wa? in the mainstream Volume 46, Number 9, September 1969

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book reviews

that have not been supplied with an English translation will handicap readers; to a lesser deeree the same mav be said of the many French and German passages. form to the conventions by Nonetheless and despite the rather high the IUPAC in 1967. A clear statement price, this outstandingly fine book deconcerning the nomenclature employed servesa place in every medical and science for optical rotatory dispersion and library. I t will not only give much indichroism is given. formation to the readers, but will also LEROYW. HAYNES provide hotm of entertaining reading. The College of Wooster RALPHE. OESPER Wooster, Ohio 44691 University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio Herman Boerhaave: The Man and his Work.

G. A . Lindebom, Professor of Internal Medicine in the Free Iteformed University of Amsterdam. Foreword by E. Ashworth Undenuood, M.D., University College, London. Methnen & Co. Ltd., London, England, 1968. Distributed in the U S A . by Barnes & Noble, New York. xx 452 pp. Tables and Photographs. 15.5 X 23.5 cm. $22.50.

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Herman Boerhaave (1668-1738) was regarded by many as the greatest physician of his time. Extraordinarily brilliant, his knowledge extended over the fields of mathematia, chemistry, botany, and the languages, both c l a 4 e and modern. An outstanding teacher, his lectures, hooks, and stndenta fundamontnlly changed the methods of teaching in the medical schools of Europe; teaching from the bedside and the clinic became of equal or greater importance than the lect~nes. will be The readers of THE JOURNAL interested chiefly in his chemical activities. His experiments were condnct,ed in s laboratory whose area. was 18.6 sq. yds. Here he prepared the experiments shown during his lectures. His chemical researches d e d t mostly with the transmutation of metals, not for gold-making purposes but to test the theory that metals could be changed into ot,hers. For example, he heated a sample of mercwy for fifteen years and he distilled a gold amalgam no less than 877 times. In addition he was seeking a remedy based on gold or mercury for such diseases as gout and rheumatoid arthritis, epilepsy, etc. However, hia greatest contrihution to chemistry was his 2-volume text Elementa chemiae that was pnblished a t Leyden in 1732. I t soon was translated into the principal European languages and these translations had many reprintin@. Boerhaave's chemical endeavors, his views, and his publications are discussed in considerable detail in the book under review here. There has been no book-length biography of Boerhaave for several centuries though many papers about him and his work are available. None of these t,reatments is nearly as exhaost,ive, and t,his well executed work, which was fourteen years in preparat,ion, is probably not only the definitive biography but also the most timely, since we are now observing the tercentenary of his birth. Though Latin was the universal language of the scholars of his time, this is no longer the ease, and so the numerous passages in this book

A632 / Journol of Chemical Education

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Gmelin-Durrer Metallurgy of iron. Volume 2, Parts A and B

Edited by G. Tvoml and the Gmelin Institute. 4th ed. Supplement to "Gmelins Handbook of Inorganic Chemistry," Syst,em No. .59, Iron, Part A, Sections 3 to 5. Verlag Chemie, GMBH, Weinheim/Bergstrmse, 1968. Val. 2%.vi 360 . un. . Vd. 2b. iv 188 pp.' Fi&. and tables. 18 k 25.;5 cm. $123.

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This puhlicat,ion follows t,he format of Volume 1 (see J. Cmm. Enuc. 43, A160 (1966)). Volume 2 complete the review of raw materials and their preparation for industrial scale reduction and then d e scribes the indust,rial processes for the reduction of iron are which do not involve the convent,ionalblast furnace. JANETB. VANU ~ R E N College of Wooster Wooster. Ohio

Gmelins Handbuch der Anorganirchen Chemie. 8. Aufloge, System Nummer 57, Nickel. Teil A 11, Lieferung 2, Elektrochemisrhes und Chemischer Verhalten Narhweir und Bertimmung

Edited by E. H. E. Pietseh, A . Kotowski and the Gmelin Institute. Verlag Chemie, GMBH, Weinheim/Berg760 pp. Figs. and strasse, 1968. xx tables. 17.5 X 25.5 cm. $211.

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This volume nearly completes the Gmelin monograph on nickel which covers the literature for over 150 years. Part C, Section 2 on coordination compounds of nickel will be the final volume in the series. Electrochemical behavior topics include the standard data plus citations through 1967 on t,he ose of nickel hydroxide eleotrades in alkaline storage batteries. The electrodeposition chapter is quite extensive with an emphasis on bright nickel plating. Many reactions with both organio and inorganic snbstances are included under chemical react,ions. The chapter on detection and determination contains a complete outline on the newer methods available as well as special methods for the determination of nickel in various materials snch as alloys, pet,roleum produot3, and biological materials.

JANET B. VANDORBN College o f Wooster ~ o o d e rOhio .