Electrochemistry, principles and application (Potter, Edmund C

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discharge of H + and OH- is a~sociated with a n electrical resistance a t the electrode whieh decreases as the current inEdmund C. Potter, Central Electricity creases. In general, the major effect a t Authority for England and Wales, Macsuch electrodes constitutes an opposing po418 millan Co., New York, 1956. xii tential or polarization, including overvoltpp. Figs. and tables. 16 X 25.5 cm. age, which increases not decreases, as the $10. current increases. The American reader will be pursled by PRESENT day e1ectroehemistr.y encomseeing all electrode, reactions written as passes a. respectable area of theory and reductions rather than the more familiar a n equally important area of application. oxidations. Also, the Nernst equation is This hook descrihes highlights of both written with a.positive coefficientin frontof areas ahout, equally within its 418 pages. the logarithm term, which places the reacG No hook of such limited size can do justice ants in the numerator and products in the to either theory or s.pplioations, hut for the denominator. The author states that intermediate science student who is inthis follows the reoent convention adopted terested in a comprehensive acconnt of t h e by the IUPAC. Otherwise, the book consubject without many derivations of equaforms to the A.C.S. sign convention, even tions, and wit,hout gross details of old and though the author says that he uses the new industrial processes, this book serves European sign convention. well. For further details, he will find a n On page 76, the author improves over appended bibliography of sugge~tedf n ~ most discussions on the origin of patent,ial ther reading. in a. galvanic eell, hut there is probably The author describes electrochemical still more the average reader needs to theory starting with electrolysis and know in order to fully understand the Faraday's law, and progresses through ion matter. activitv. conduction, electrode notentialr, The abmissa. of Figure 75 on page 248 overviltages, and eleetrokineti; phenamshould he labeled "current" rather than ens. A number of useful problems ar"current density" u n l e s ~the cell referwd company each chapter to help clarify t o has anodes and cathodes of equal area. fundamentals. On page 255, phosphating solutions for From here on, the hook dedls with anpreparstion of a metal surface for paintalvticnl applications including the polaroing are not called "wash primer," a t least graph, corrosion, electroplating, electroin this country. A wash primer, instead, winning, electrorefining, alkali-chlorine is a type of corrosion inhihiting paint a p production, eleetropolishing, anodizing, plied directly over a metal surface (prime primary and secondary cells, and furl coat) consisting usually of polpinyl bucells. tyral and ZnCrOd compounded with H P 0 4 . The hook is not well suited for use as a On page 266,the criterion of full cathodt,est for a course in electrochemistry. nor ic protection for steel is 0.85 volt more is i t prohshly intended aa such. I t can anodic not more cathodic than the Cuserve hetter as a reference volume for CuS04reference cell. student, teacher, or indu~t,rialresearcher. These few matters do not detract from Some statements could be improved. the value of this hoak in providing a conFor example, (p. I), it iu better to define venient reference for the reader interested anode, not as the positive conductor of a in knowing in short space what electrocell. hut as the electrode a t which oridachemistry is all ahout. ELECTROCHEMISTRY, PRINCIPLES AND APPLICATIONS

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H. H. UHLIG

trolyte. I t is not "current efficiency" (p. 19), whieh is raised by increasing the eondurtivity of the electrolyte in the eell, hut rather "energy efficiency," where the letter is defined as the ratio of theoretical kilowatt hours X 100 to produce a given amount of substance a t an electrode divided by the actual kilowatt haws. On page 280 the author prefers s different definition of energy efficiency based on the actual electrical energy consumed in the

ficance. This matter couldAheargued.I t is misleading to state (p. 201,that the VOLUME 34, NO. 11, NOVEMBER, 1957

M * s B * C R ~ ~ E T T SINBTII.UTE OI T E C X N O L D ~ Y

C ~ ~ s n l n MABSACHDBETTO o~.

LABORATORY GLASSBLOWING

L. M. P a r r a n d C. A. Hendley, Chemical Publishing Co., Ino., New York, 1957. ii 154 pp. 14.5 X 22 cm. $4.

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INTHE preface to this small volume the authors state "Herein are given instructions which they hope will enable any reasonably dextrous person to acquire sufficient skill not only to execute repairs to broken glassware, but also t o make quite complicated glass apparatus." Their

estimate of a reasonably "dextrous person" is perhaps revealed in a delightful summary to Chapter 4. "All the operations we have described can he carried out in a morning or afternoon, by which time you will have learned quit8 a lot of fundamentals of glassh1owing:-how to cut and clean glass; how to draw points; close the end of a tube; and make flanges . . . WL:hope you will also have acquired . . .preparalion, patience, and persevemnee." The hook is written largely from the point of view of a n English laboratory worker which may limit its value for use in the United States. Thus, nothing is said about the problem of operating glass blowing burners with natural rather than manufactured gas. Most of the instructions are for working "soft" or "lime" glass. The best parts of the hook are the chapters on metal-glass seals and stopcocks. Through some error, the table of contents lists a seven-page Appendix which is not included in the body of thl: hoak. LAURENCE E. STRONG EARLXAM COL&EOE R1cHao;ro. IND,*X*

LABORATORY GLASS WORKING FOR SCIENTISTS A. J. B. Robertson, University of London, D. J. Fabian, University of British Columbia, A. J. Crocker, King's College, London, I. De Wing, National Research Council of Canada. Academic Press Inc.. New York; Butterworths Scientific Publica184 pp. $4. tions, London, 1957. xiv

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INA day when much research is done in research institutions, the professional glassblower is one of the many skilled persons who plays an important role in the day-to-day work of the chemist. This might be taken to mean that a working scientist should not spend time training himself to iashion equipment from glass. The authors of this small volume, however, believe that tthe laboratory scientist should he prepared to carry on even in the face of limitations in the service provided for him. Further, they regard lahoratory work rts a craft vital to the continuing of fruitful scientific discovery. They observe, "In modern times the old tradition that the masters of science ~ h o u l dalso be themselves masters of the practical craft of science has failed to persist, and the more eminent scientists are now usually not t o he found a t the working bench in the research laboratory. There is, we think, n consequent weakening of the craft basis of practical ~cientificwork, and some r e treat from the view expressed by I . Lang-