[Book Reviews]

Abstract

THE author believes that the student of chemistry should become acquainted with thermodynamical methods at an early stage, and his book affords an elementary introduction to the underlying principles and their applications. It demands little mathematical equipment and is chiefly concerned with cyclic processes. All the nine chapters conclude with numerical examples to which, however, no answers are provided. Nearly half the book deals with the applications of thermodynamics to electrochemistry, and in some cases the material has little relation to thermodynamics. It is regrettable that the symbol 3 has been used in place of the correct notation for partial differentiation. On p. 39 the transition point of rhombic to mono-clinic sulphur is given as 95-5° C. in the text and 96-5° C. in the figure. In the consideration of gaseous reactions in Chapter v., the law of mass action is deduced by using two equilibrium boxes. This method of deduction does not correspond with any practical case and a better method is that used a few pages later for the maximum work, in which the problem is again worked out in detail and the external work term is introduced. The book is clearly and carefully written, well printed, and is reasonably priced. A second volume dealing with thermodynamical functions is promised.

The Fundamentals of Chemical Thermodynamics.

By Dr. J. A. V. Butler. Part 1: Elementary Theory and Applications. Pp. xi + 207. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1928.) 6s.