ilpril 20, 1950 Boos REVIEWS 2029

tor>- tools for t he study of high inagiletic fields or the study o f protective materials for the re-entry phase of rockets.

The report of this conference presents authoritative and , in many instances, quite detailed discussions of t he equipment used for priiducing tlie high temperature plasmas or of the types o f i i ~ e ; i ~ ~ r e n ~ e n t that can be made. It is unfortunate tha t the rel.tsntion of security restrictions in this general field did tmt come early enough to allow a much broader discussion o f ivurk with plasmas and possible applications. This restrictiun has left a somewhat unbalanced presenta- tion \\-itli sotne topics discussed in great detail and other topics barel>- iiientioned. For those topics which have been :tdequ:itel!- covered the reader will find a quite up t o da te and comprehensive treatment. Although this work will be of great value to those active in the plasma field, i t will not be very useful t o the casual reader who wishes to gain an over-all view of the activities in this field. DEP,4RT'MEST OF CHEMISTRY USI\.ERSITT OF CALIFORSIA BERKELEY, CALIFORSIA

LEO BREWER

Progress in Semiconductors. Volume 3. ALAS F. GIBSOX, B.Sc., Ph.D., Gericral Editor, Professor R. E . BURGESS, \.ancouver, B.C. , ;\merican Editor and Professor P . AIGRAIS, Paris, European Editor. John \Vile>- and Sons, Inc. , 44@ Fourth Avenue, S e w I'ork 16, S. Y. 1958. vii + 210 pp. 16.5 X 23.5 cm. Price, $5.50. This is the third of an annual series of volumes reviewing

various topics in the field of semiconductors. This volume contains the following seven articles: The Magnetoresis- tivity of Germanium mid Silicon, hI. Glicksirian; The Chemi- cal Purification of Germaniurn and Silicon, J . bI. IVilson; Electronic Conductivity of Silver Halide Crystals. J . IV. ?rlitclicll; Silicon Junction Diodes, D. E . 3l:asiin and D. F. Taylor; Lifcstirne of Excess Carriers in Serniccinductors, A . M a n y ant i K . D r a y ; Scattering ;ind Drift Llobility o f Car- riers i n Germ:iniuiii, h l . S. Siidli'i; Electronic Processes iii C:idrniuni Sulphide, J . Lainbe :ind C. C . Klick.

The articles :ire about ivlitit \\-e lixvc come t i i expect frliiti the first t w o viilurrics, being alioiit :3r p:igcs iii Iengtli, iritli cunteiits well described b!. tlieir t i t l e > . 13:iving resid tlie bo[ik, I find little t o coiniiieiit 1111. I lie ;irticles ;ire gciier- :ill>. \vel1 ivritten, \ \ i t11 c,ircfiil wlcction ( i f ni,itcri:il. The type c~iiitiiiui~s to bcs too s11i:i11, :iiid tlie paper too yel l~i iv , for ciiinfiirt:iblc re,tdiiig, m t l , o f coiirsr, i v i t l i nilist ( i f tlie articles writtcii 11et\vecn t ine : t i id tivo y e u s ;igii, iii;iiiy recent devel~ipiiiciits ;are not includctl. Severtltelcss, tliesc, I);ipers serve RS wiirthwliile guides to the I)rescrit st:itiis of these interesting tupics and in iiioht cka,.cs itidic:itc tlic prohi - blc direction !if future progress.

_.

The \-oluiiic begins with a paper (15 pages) by Paqunt nn autoxidation of fa t ty substances, through which the rettdcr becomes acquainted with pertinent aspects of peroxide chemistry. Thereafter, follow analytical studies on the radin- tion formation of peroxides in various organic conipciunds of biological interest, including cumene (11. Durup, 9 pages), amino acids and peptides (S. Okada, 4 pages) and nucleic acids and related compounds ( J . .I. 1.. Butler , 3 pages and J . IVeiss, 3 pages). Then papers on the presumptive indica- tion of peroxide intermediates, in different biological r.idi.i- tion reactions including killing of mice ( J . S t . I,. Pltilpiit, et ai., 8 pages), inxtivCition i i f tr:iiisfurming principle i n pneumococci ( I < . Latarjct , et a l . , 9 pages), genetic effects i n drosophila ( F . H. Sobels, 10 pages) and inactivation uf bacteriophage ( D . 5Iaswell, 4 pcigesi. I-nrious aspects of the effect of oxygen ore dealt \ritli by L. H . Gray (The influence of oxygen 011 the radiosensitivity of cells anti tis- sues, 9 pages), 11. Ebert and A . Howard (?rlodific:ttiun of the oxygen effect by gases, 4 pages), T. Alper (.I niecli- anisin for the osygen effect suggested by some recent es- periments, 8 pages) and C . I'ermcil (Reactions en chaine en phase aqueous et "effect oxygene," 7 pages). Gray's xr- t ick includes reference to the practical usage of compressed oxygen in radio therapy.

Together these pqiers and discussions give a \vel1 rriuiidctl picture of the present status of an important subjcct in radia-

Paper and printing are good. There is an , but one misses a subject index.

CHEMISTRY DIVISIOS

LEMOST, ILLISOIS ARCOSSE SATIOSAL L A W R A T O R Y iru(;o I IWX

iii~iiirmiers \vliicli Iiavc so far I)ecii suhjcctetl to s tudy, includ- ing styrene, methyl iiiethacryl:lte, vinyl acetate, rnethvl acryl:ite, acrylonitrile, vinyl chloride, ethylene, acrylamidc :ind others. These compounds are discussed under different liendings according to wliether they are irradiated in fluid, gas, srJlid or dissolved state and whether the polymer reinnins soluble or precipitates under irradiation. I n c l u d d is :in ac- ciiunt of tlie recent and praetic:tlly promising applicatio,i ( i f

rdi: i t ioii in producing grafted copoly~ners. The article l i~iidics ivitli n discussinn of the design and c:ilcul:iticin of r:itlio:ictive sources suitable for industrial applications of r:i- cliatioii polyinerizntion.

I’riiicip~~l e!Tccts i i i irr:idi:ttion of polymers arc (1) cross- liiikiiig of polymer cli,iins, lending t o incre.ised riiolecul:tr iveight and eventually, with sufficicritly high dii.ngc, to :ti1 i~isoluljle tlirce diiiieiisional network (gel) and ( 2 ) ruptures in tlie main ch:iin, leading t o decreased molecular weight. StiIiie of tlie essential physical properties of polymers (solu- liility, fiisibility, swelling, rliisticity j depend largely 011

i i~oIeciiI~r size, Tvitli re:Jtively little dcpendence on chemical constitution. 11nport:int aspects of tlie radiation efiect can be tliscussed, therefore, on basis of t he clinnge in molecular iveiglit of tlic irradiated polynier. The principles were dc- \.clopcd 111. Kul i l i , Flory, etc. Tlic greater par t ( 5 cli:ipters) of tlic article b y C1i;irleshy is devoted to an outline nf tliis tlieiiry a n d i ts a1iplic;ition ti, experiincnt:il d:it;i in the field of ratli:itiiin. I n xldit ion, t he article ~ ( i n t a i n s t\vo c h p t e r s \vliicli de:tl \vitli pcrtir:r:nt aspects of t he underlying elieinical

a i i t l (iiic c1iaptc.r in ivliic!i is discussctl tlie effect of iuii m i tlic crystallinity of polynicrs :i~id tile resultant

e1i:iiiges i i i ~iliysical properties. ‘l’lic article deals iiiaitily \vit!i e i~ t~ i~~iere i , i I po ly in~r s : p r ~ ~ t c i n s arid iiticlcic x i d s are i i i i t tliicus~ctl. Fiir renxrding r e d i n g of tliis review, the stiitletit should liave soiiie previous :icqu.iiiitaiice ivitli ti:? cxpcriiiicntal aspects of the subject, as might he c1btainc.d by iii:ikiiig iisc uf the literatiire refereiiccs ( X 1 ) gix-eii i l l tlic article or by reading Dr. Clinrlesby’s more poptilxr revietv in i V ~ ~ c / ~ ~ ~ i ~ z i c s , 1 2 , 18 (1!1,54).

?‘lie V ( J ~ U l ! i C rcviewed is : I I I excellent :~(Iditii~ti to IIais- 5iiiAy’s scrics uf ~noiiogr~tplis. Typography, illustr‘iticiris :iii~l lisper itre of the u iua l liigli st:ind:ird for the series. ’~IIL, book is p:irticul:irly ivclcome siiicc 1111 conipxr:1I>le revicws of any o f tlie subjects covered :ire a t jiresciit ~v:i i l- ablc.

I 1 U c ; O l;I<IcI<E LEXOST, ILLIS0

Organic Syntheses with Isotopes. Part I. Compounds of Isotopic Carbon. 13y A R T i I w ~ I U H I I A Y . 111, c i ~ i d L). LLOYD U’ILLIAMS. Uiiiversity uf CLilif~miia, Los .4lariios Scieiitilic I,atxirntory, Los Al:trii~~s, S e \ v I1Icsico. Iiitcr- scieiicc Publislicrs, Iiic., 250 Fiftli Avei i i i~ , Xe\v Ucirk 1, N. Y. 19S8. s + 1140 pp. 15.5 X 2 X 5 cin. Price, S25.00.

.I ciiiisiderable coiitribution to t r x e r cliemistry Iias been ii:,tde by the publication of this book. In this first p:irt of tlicir two-part voluirie t he authors have :isseiiibled from the litcr:itiire dcscriptioiis of the clieiiiical s)-iitlieses of ne:irly ;ltJO c~JiIli3lIUiidS labeled !villi cL3 or c“. Par t 11 of this v(iluine will givc preparations of organic compounds l:rheled ivith isotopic halogens, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, pliiis- iiIi<irus and sulfur.

The authors have covered tlic literature through 1935. They present the descriptions o f syntlieses in sufficicnt de- tail so tha t a preparation may be carried ou t without further recourse t o the original literature. The format used

is suine\vli:it li!x that in O r p n i c S j r i ~ l i ~ ~ s c s . Tlicre is iirst :i description of the procedure, followed by elaborations in tlie form of notes, and , finally, “Other Prepnrntions.” Ii’iiere more than one method has been publislicd for the labeling of a given compound, t he method the authors regard :is the “most feasible” Iias been presented, along with refcrcnces t o other preparations. From their I m g e~iierience with syntheses of radiocarbon ccirnpountls, lIurr. iy ;iiitl \VilIiains are well qualified to select the best iirocc(Im-e. I n c:~scs wliere two or more preparations a p p e x equ:il!y good, tlie authors present descriptioris of each method.

At the present t ime severd Iiuiitlred isl,t~ii,icnlly-l.ibc!e(i org:inic coinpountls are av:iil,ible e~ininierci:tlly. Ciii~sc.- quently, it is nijw less frequcntly necessxy for :I rcsc,ircli cirganizatioii t o h:iw to synthesize i ts oivii tlvsiret! tr.icer coinpounds. I t is, nonetheless, very inucli in (irdcr tli.Lt tlic wealth of existing and scattered inf~~rinii t i~ii i regitrcling iso- topic syntheses be c(iIlectcd in cliie p l x e . This biiiik \vi11 be inost valuable to anyone coiitem:il,itiiig :my q! ntlicsis ( i f LL

compciund coritainiiig isotopic c~i r !~oi i , iiiclu~liiig c~i inpount is w l i c w svntlicaes :ire n ~ t desi.ri!)etl Iicrc. Ucyoiitl t!i.it, tlic hook \\-ill be uscful to anyiiiie intcrcstctl in tlie gciicral sub- ject o f organic syntlieses. 1i:itii~icliciiiists l i ~ \ . c 1i.d tri iiicc’t w ~ t l siil\re inany prubleins coiiceriietl iv i t l i sin.ill-sc:ile r e x - t i i~ns , liiiiiting rc:igents and Iiigli >.icltlz. l‘liis I I I X J ~ tle- t:iils iii:iiiy of the siilutioiis to siicli ; i r~ i I~ le i i i~ . i i i t l it iiiclut1c.s sketches of rnuch of the :il)1i;irdtiis devised t o iiicet t!ie rticliii- chcinists’ special iieeds.

I t is very disappointing t o find no iiitlcs ~iccoiiip:inyi~ig P a r t I . T h e publishers 11ave decided, very :iiist,ikciily i i i

iiiy opinion, t o piiblisli the indices t o both ~i. ir ts i i i l’.irt I1 i,lily. T h e price of P i r t I alone is $25, surely e~i i iugl i tii have enabled the pulilisliers t o have inclutietl :i sc.1) ir.ite index. 31:iny clieiiiists will he more interested in tile critnpilation of t l i ~ syntlicses of c:irbon-istitoI)e cii :np~~i~iit ls th:iii in c o ~ i i ~ i ~ ~ i i n d s labeled with the otlier istJtolic,. I I o w - ever, t!icy will find P,irt I sharply reduced in tiscfuliiess because it has no index. T o make full u s e of P.trt I they will have to purcliase Par t I1 \vlietlier they r r a i i t it or niit.

This brxik is especi,!lly dil’iicult to use tvit For esainple , no acc:tylenc-Ci* prqiar:ition “I-Iydrocurl~ciiis.” i t is given a s :in intc sodiuin acetate-C?“ prepirCttiiiii in :I c1i:rpter on “.icitls” (1). 45) :ind :tg:iin (diiferciit pricedurc) in aii e t I i : i~ io l -C~~ prepa- r:itioii in the cli:ipter on “IIytiroxy Compouiids” (p . 912) . I t will not be fouiid witl i~iut t ha t i i i i~s ing index. .Is :i scc- uiitl iIlustr:itioii, prcliarations ( i f elcineiit:il C”, C ” H ~ S ~ :imi 3-(p-chlor~iplieiiyl-l-CL’)-1 ,l-~liinetliylurc,i :i l l :iplie:ir i i i a cli;iptcr entitled “Carbonic Acid lkrivti t ivca.” I i i cvu wislietl so iiiuch for mi index as I did wlien rcutlitig t!iis boclk.

Ihotopic org:inic i i~ii~ict~cl, i turc is :I tliimiy suljjcct : i t i t 1 v:iriiius sytcnis of ii:iiiiing l;il~cled 1Jrg;itiic cmiipuui~tls l i ~ v e ~ L C I I devised by several ntirkcrs. The autlior:, of tliis bi~iik IiIivc coiisitlcrctl tile subject iii tlic “Iiitrotitictirii~” ant1 tlicy li:ivc p r ~ i p ~ ~ s e t l :I n e w of riilcs for isoto1)ic nr~inc~ic l , i t~ i rc . l i ie i r rules, \vIiic!i tli ip1iIy in tlic book, .ire neccss:irily

niust be read in order tci use t h e buok effectively. ’rlic trouble is, ! i i j u ever, t l u t many non-elicinists will \v;iilt t 1

use this volume and tlicy 1n:iy be mystified when t1:c.y see , j - ,1~a-L’-pent~i i i~11ie-2-~~~’’ instead of a more familiar “etliyl

:icet:itc carboiiyl-01*.” .it worst, however, this will b e 1 1 0 iiiore t1iaIi a iiiiiior aiiiioy:iiice.

This is nn excellent and useful book, ~na r red only 1jy its high price and lack of an iiidcx. T h e authors :ire t o be c(ingratulated 011 their tine contributioii to radioelietiiistry. I<.IDIATIOS L.IDORATORY USIVERSITY OF CALIFORSIA UERKELEY, CALIPORSIA

C l l l l l ~ > ~ C X (one O f tllell1 : l l ( J l l V is :L ~ l , l ~ f - ~ c l ~ L ! IiJIlg) 1)lIt tiley

‘‘.

RICIIAKD hl. LEMMON