332 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLIX. No. 1266 



SCIENTIFIC BOOKS 



Electroanalysis. By Edgar F. Smith. P. 



Blakiston's Son and Co., Philadelphia. 



1918. Pp. 344, 47 figs. 



This book is so well known that a brief men- 

 tion of the fact that a new, sixth, edition of 

 this national standard had appeared would 

 suffice. Compared to the fifth edition which 

 appeared in 1911, a number of additions to the 

 text have been made, so that " in its present 

 form there is presented the most recent and 

 com.plete picture of the subject to which the 

 book is devoted." " The book brings together 

 aR that has been found reliable, by the test of 

 experience and ojGEers simultaneously the latest 

 results gathered in recent years from widely 

 removed centers.' ' 



The first edition of the book appeared at 

 Philadelphia in 1890 and comprised 116 pages. 

 In reviewing the book at that time Ira Remsen 

 wrote: 



Chemists will find this little hook an excellent 

 guide to a knowledge of the methods of quantita- 

 tive analysis by electrolysis. As the author has 

 himself contributed not a little to our knowledge of 

 ■these methods, he is especially prepared for a work 

 of this kind. 



Up to 1890 text-books on analytical chem- 

 istry paid very little if any attention to electro- 

 lytic methods. The appearance of Dr. Smith's 

 book miarked the opening of a new era in 

 quantitative analysis. The book was welcomed 

 by chemists throughout the country and abroad 

 and within a very few years thousands of 

 determinations were annually made by electro- 

 lytic methods. 



In 1901 Smith and his students, notably 

 F. F. Exner, introduced the rotating anode 

 with high currents and high voltages. Deter- 

 minations which had formerly required two to 

 four hours were redticed to five to ten minutes 

 — and the quantities that could be accurately 

 determined were more than threefold the 

 quantities by the older methods. 



The adoption of electroanalytic methods has 

 been so rapid and so widespread that to-day 

 it is hard to find a laboratory that does not 

 iniclude a complete outfit for electrolytic deter- 

 minations. Apparatus builders are now placing 



upon the market standard equipments, saving 

 much time and expense. 



The wide scope of the book as it appears 

 to-day is evident from the following brief sum- 

 mary of the contents : The first part of the book 

 is devoted to the selection and description of 

 suitable apparatus, a historical sketch and a 

 very clear outline of the important underlying 

 theories. The second or special part of the 

 book (about 250 pp.) is devoted to the determi- 

 nation and separation of metals, halogens and 

 nitric acid ; the use of the mercury cathode ; the 

 electroanalysis of natural sulfides, arsenides, 

 chromite, etc. Among the most recent addi- 

 tions to the text miay be mentioned the para- 

 graph on the use of Gooch's platinum-coated 

 glass in place of solid platinum, the quantita- 

 tive determination of cobalt as CojO^ from 

 annnonium fiuoride-nitric acid solutions; and 

 the description of the improved double mercury 

 cup in which " hundreds of halides have been 

 successfully analyzed." 



One of the characteristic features of Smith's 

 book as compared with other books on analyt- 

 ical chemistry, is the inclusion in the text of 

 tables recording in detail actual experiments 

 carried out according to the methods suggested. 

 Of interest and value, furthermore, are the de- 

 tailed literature references, a welcome guide to 

 aU who care to investigate the subject more 

 fully. There is no attempt made to supply a 

 " recipe " for every determination and every 

 separation. Where accurate methods have not 

 yet been propounded it is frankly acknowledged 

 that such are lacking. Perhaps, too little space 

 is devoted to the rotating cathode, used to ad- 

 vantage at times in place of the rotating anode. 

 In a number of the large commercial labora- 

 tories the rotating cathode has been chosen in 

 preference to the rotating anode on account of 

 simplicity of mechanical layout. 



The subject matter throughout the book is 

 presented in so masterful a style that it can 

 not fail to inspire confidence not only in the 

 young student but also in the analyst of " many 

 and varied experiences." To the student, the 

 teacher and the analyst the book is an indis- 

 pensable guide. As a chemical publication 



