✍ Scribed by R.H. Oppermann
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
BOOK REVIEWS. 291 book is a valued contribution which should do much to clear understanding and provide a foundation for progress in this promising field. R. H. OPPERMANN. THE CHEMICAL ACTION OF ULTRAVIOLET RAYS, by Carleton Ellis and Alfred A. Wells. Revised and Enlarged Edition, by Francis F. Heyroth. 961 pages, illustrations, 16 )< 24 cms. New York, Reinhold Publishing Corporation, i94I. Price $I2.OO.
The first edition of "The Chemical Action of Ultraviolet Rays" by Ellis and Wells accomplished a great deal in furnishing a much needed summary and reference work. Advances in theory in this field in recent years has been great so that the first edition to be revised required much rewriting including altered interpretation of many reactions.
This revised and enlarged edition opens with a discussion on the nature of ultraviolet radiation--a brief historical sketch of the present knowledge of light, visible and invisible. This gives a knowledge of the physical nature of the radiations. Following this the book is divided into four parts.
Types of apparatus available for the production of ultraviolet rays are described in considerable detail in part one. The chemist who may be untrained in modern physics is given acquaintance with a minimum of the newer viewpoint necessary for an understanding of the characteristics of the useful sources of ultraviolet radiations. Then a survey is made of the various sources before each type is taken up in detail.
Part two deals with photochemical reactions by first giving an introduction to the mechanism of photochemical processes wherein a few representative reactions are discussed at length, then the literature of a wide variety of photochemical processes is summarized. It includes photosensitized pr6cesses, reactions of inorganic gases, inorganic reactions in liquids, photochemical reactions of inorganic solids, reactions of organic compounds, effects of light on halogenation reactions, etc.
The applications of photochemistry to industrial products is the subject assigned to part three. Here the treatment is somewhat empirical, recognition being given that few investigators have as yet made full use of the current theoretical advances. Attention is given to the reactions of fatty acids and the preservation of foods, processes involving the polymerization of oils--paints and varnishes, photochemistry of rubber, textiles, paper and dyestuffs, and a discussion on miscellaneous applications of ultraviolet light such as fluorescence tests for leather, applications to petroleum products, and drugs and related products.
Applications of ultraviolet rays in biology is the subject of part four. Under this heading there is presented the lethal action of ultraviolet rays and sterilization, the present state of our knowledge of the general physiological effects of this form of energy upon multicellular organisms, therapeutic applications of ultraviolet light--rickets and irradiation, the formation of D vitamins, and other biological topics.
The book represents the results of a tremendous amount of work in compiling references, extracting data and classifying results. This together with an intimate knowledge of the subject and expert composition has brought forth a
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The many users of the Condensed Chemical Dictionary will be interested to learn that the third edition has now been published. The general arrangement remains in the same handy fashion as the previous editions but over 6ooo new items have been added. They comprise chemicals, drugs, pharmaceuticals,