Abstract
THE intention of this book is to enable students with little knowledge of chemistry atid mathematics and none of physical chemistry to begin the study of chemical engineering, or rather of what are termed "the five technical fundamentals". It opens with a chapter on human relations in chemical engineering ; the next deals with "Useful Mathematical Tools". This is followed by "Important Concepts of Physics and Chemistry"—in fifty pages. Of these it might be said that never were so many facts (sometimes not strictly accurate) compressed into so few pages. The effect of reading this part of the book is one of bewilderment and a feeling of agreement with a statement made later that "dogmatism usually irritates most readers". It is doubtful if British students, who are trained to think rather than absorb facts, could take in all that is presented, or if it would be of any value to them if they did. They might well gain the impression, for example, that there are five important aromatic compounds represented by well-drawn formulæ, one of which, styrene, is used to make synthetic rubber. Whether it is a solid, liquid, or gas is apparently immaterial, as are its chemical reactions, other than polymerization.
Chemical Engineering Fundamentals
By Chalmer G. Kirkbride. (McGraw-Hill Chemical Engineering Series.) Pp. xi + 419. (New York and London: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1947.) 30s.
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WATSON, H. Chemical Engineering Fundamentals. Nature 161, 911 (1948). https://doi.org/10.1038/161911a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/161911a0