BooI~ REviEws
r3. ~. :. involving a perfunctory explanation in terms of dislocation, detracts from the continuiw of this chapter since it preceeds the section on imperfections in crystals. Chapters six, seven, and eight are devoted to the classical treatment of the first, second, and third laws of thermodynamics. Chapters nine and ten discuss fugaeity, activity, the equilibrium constant, and solutions. The chapter on solutions is very well written and in itself justifies the use of this book as a reference. The authors discuss in detail such subjects as the determination of the activities of one component when that of the other is known and the conversion from one standard state to another. Much of the material in this chapter has not appeared in textbooks before. Chapters eleven, twelve, and thirteen deal with phase relations, heterogeneous equilibria, and free-energy-composition diagrams. These subjects have been presented in many texts but seldom with such clarity and detail as is shown here. This section provides the information necessary for a thorough understanding of the phase diagram, an understanding that is mandatory for the metallurgist. Chapter fourteen is worthy of special mention since it concerns the important but often neglected topic of temperaturepressure diagrams. The relation between temperature and pressure for a univariant equilibrium in a binary system is developed. Equilibria in the following systems are discussed: metal-oxide, metal-sulfide, metal-carbide, metal-nitride and metal-chloride. Chapters fifteen and sixteen involve the thermodynamics of the iron-nltrogen and iron-carbon systems. The authors state that they believe these chapters to be more comprehensive than can be found in the present literature. Perusal of the material in this section of the book reveals little reason to question their statement. Although these two systems serve to illustrate certain thermodynamic principles under discussion, it is believed that they have been allocated too much space in a textbook of this type.
Electrochemistry as concerned with reversible cells is the subject of chapter seventeen. The authors mention that such cells offer an important means of determining the activities of components in solutions. The student usually has difficulty in attaining a "feeling" for activities. One of the best means of assisting him to overcome this difficulty is to demonstrate how activities are actually obtained by electromotive force measurements. In this chapter such an illustration in detail would have fit in quite well with the material on activities as discussed in chapter ten. The final two chapters serve as introductions to the theory of diffusion and the kinetics of metallurgical processes. These are reproductions of two of Dr. Darken's previous papers appearing in the books Atom Movements (American Society for Metals, Cleveland, 1951) and Basic Open Hearth Steelmaking (American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, New York, 1951). Finally, the book is supplemented by an extensive collection of problems by Dr. M. B. Bever. This is an outstanding text, yew well written, adequate in coverage, and containing much new material. It could be used to great advantage as a textbook for the senior or graduate metallurgist in courses dealing with the physical chemistry of metals.
RAYMOND L. SMITH