﻿538 
  Notices 
  respecting 
  Neic 
  Books. 
  

  

  Text-Boole 
  of 
  Physical 
  Chemistry. 
  By 
  Clarence 
  L. 
  Speyers, 
  

   Associate 
  Professor 
  of 
  Chemistry, 
  Itutgers 
  College. 
  (New 
  York, 
  

   D. 
  Van 
  Nostrand 
  Company 
  ; 
  London, 
  Spon, 
  1898.) 
  

  

  Physical 
  chemistry 
  is 
  advancing 
  so 
  rapidly, 
  and 
  bas 
  become 
  a 
  

   subject 
  of 
  such 
  great 
  importance, 
  as 
  to 
  render 
  an 
  English 
  text- 
  

   book 
  of 
  its 
  more 
  elementary 
  and 
  fundamental 
  principles 
  very 
  

   desirable. 
  It 
  is 
  fitting 
  that 
  the 
  work 
  should 
  have 
  been 
  undertaken 
  

   in 
  America, 
  since 
  many 
  researches 
  on 
  the 
  subject, 
  both 
  theoretical 
  

   and 
  experimental, 
  are 
  due 
  to 
  American 
  chemists. 
  The 
  author's 
  

   task 
  has, 
  however, 
  been 
  by 
  no 
  means 
  an 
  easy 
  one, 
  because, 
  firstly, 
  

   it 
  is 
  difficult 
  to 
  decide 
  what 
  portions 
  of 
  the 
  subject 
  are 
  sufficiently 
  

   permanent 
  to 
  justify 
  their 
  inclusion 
  in 
  a 
  text-book, 
  and, 
  secondly, 
  

   opinions 
  may 
  differ 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  amount 
  of 
  space 
  which 
  should 
  be 
  

   devoted 
  to 
  the 
  exposition 
  of 
  physical 
  principles, 
  such 
  as 
  the 
  

   laws 
  of 
  thermodynamics 
  or 
  the 
  elements 
  of 
  current 
  electricity. 
  

   Prof. 
  Speyers 
  briefly 
  sketches 
  the 
  subject 
  of 
  thermodynamics, 
  

   apparently 
  assuming 
  that 
  the 
  student 
  is 
  already 
  familiar 
  with 
  the 
  

   physical 
  treatment 
  of 
  it, 
  and 
  he 
  recapitulates 
  the 
  definitions 
  of 
  

   electric 
  units. 
  The 
  chapter 
  on 
  physical 
  changes 
  includes 
  the 
  dis- 
  

   cussion 
  of 
  fusion, 
  vaporization, 
  solution, 
  and 
  osmotic 
  pressure, 
  and 
  

   is 
  followed 
  by 
  a 
  chapter 
  on 
  the 
  conditions 
  of 
  chemical 
  equilibrium 
  

   in 
  the 
  various 
  systems, 
  solid, 
  liquid, 
  gas, 
  or 
  mixtures 
  of 
  these. 
  

   Chemical 
  kinetics 
  is 
  represented 
  by 
  a 
  brief 
  sketch 
  of 
  the 
  method 
  

   of 
  determining 
  the 
  rate 
  of 
  decomposition 
  of 
  the 
  substances 
  con- 
  

   cerned 
  in 
  chemical 
  reactions; 
  then 
  come 
  chapters 
  on 
  phases 
  and 
  

   the 
  effects 
  of 
  variable 
  temperature. 
  The 
  chemistry 
  of 
  ionized 
  

   solutions 
  necessitates 
  a 
  section 
  devoted 
  to 
  electrolysis 
  and 
  properties 
  

   of 
  the 
  ions, 
  including 
  a 
  discussion 
  of 
  the 
  energy 
  derivable 
  from 
  the 
  

   chemical 
  action 
  in 
  any 
  given 
  voltaic 
  cell. 
  

  

  The 
  book 
  serves 
  a 
  useful 
  purpose 
  by 
  presenting 
  the 
  facts 
  of 
  the 
  

   subject 
  in 
  a 
  collected 
  and 
  logical 
  form 
  ; 
  it 
  requires 
  some 
  revision, 
  

   however, 
  especially 
  in 
  the 
  electrical 
  portion. 
  We 
  find, 
  for 
  example, 
  

   on 
  p. 
  155, 
  and 
  again 
  on 
  the 
  next 
  page, 
  the 
  statement 
  that 
  a 
  volt 
  

   is 
  10 
  8 
  dynes, 
  which 
  might 
  lead 
  a 
  student 
  to 
  suppose 
  that 
  electro- 
  

   motive 
  force 
  is 
  a 
  mechanical 
  force. 
  By 
  an 
  obvious 
  slip 
  on 
  p. 
  159, 
  

   the 
  signs 
  plus 
  and 
  minus 
  are 
  interchanged, 
  making 
  the 
  cathode 
  

   appear 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  positive 
  electrode, 
  and 
  vice 
  versa. 
  The 
  proposal 
  

   of 
  the 
  author 
  to 
  use 
  the 
  term 
  absorption 
  of 
  electricity 
  for 
  con- 
  

   ductivity 
  is 
  open 
  to 
  the 
  objection 
  that 
  the 
  former 
  term 
  is 
  already 
  

   used 
  to 
  indicate 
  a 
  well-defined 
  and 
  quite 
  different 
  electrical 
  

   phenomenon. 
  J. 
  L. 
  IT. 
  

  

  