Chemistry and Physics. 419 



* 



ards) . — In this circular a concise account of the basic principles 

 of modern polarimetry is given. The new edition has been 

 carefully revised and 43 pages of additional matter have been 

 incorporated in the appendixes. The new material comprises 10 

 lables which include the new Bureau of Standards Baume scale 

 for liquids more dense than water, the results of recent 

 researches, a consideration of the polarization of low-grade prod- 

 ucts, a resume of the work of the International Commission for 

 Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis, and amendments to the 

 United States Treasury Department Sugar Regulations. The 

 volume undoubtedly constitutes an important and practically 

 useful contribution to the subject. h. s. u. 



8. Theories of Energy; by Horace Perry. Pp. vii, 231. 

 New York, 1918 (G. P. Putnam's Sons). — After devoting twenty 

 years to pondering over the phenomena associated with energy 

 the author has developed certain lines of argument which he 

 now presents as "theories." Among other things he gives 

 theories of energy, spectral lines, chemical reaction, gravity, 

 magnetism, electricity, reflection of light, color, double refrac- 

 tion, polarization, diffraction, etc. The Preface closes with the 

 following sentence : "It has been my aim to be explicit and con- 

 cise, and in order to facilitate the treatment of the subject and 

 make myself the better understood, I have found it necessary 

 to make use of a number of new terms." Although these new 

 terms are defined in a general way in the Notes which follow 

 the text proper they do not seem to correspond unambiguously to 

 ordinary scientific terms and hence they defeat their own end 

 by making the book almost unintelligible to the trained physicist. 

 This difficulty is increased by the entire absence of mathematical 

 symbols and formulae. 



The following typical quotations are made without comment 

 in order to show the style and character of the text. ' ' The ether 

 is, in all probability, a homogeneous substance, not in the form 

 of particles, as some consider, but unparticulate and continuous, 

 and it is only reasonable to suppose that there is no cohesion 

 between its parts, there being merely a togetherness without any 

 forcible hold." "The occurrence of gravity in all matter and 

 its incessant action indicate that it is the primary form of 

 energy, and if through reciprocal gravitial energizement other 

 manners of energy arise, it would be the primary form." "As 

 has already been said, electricity is supposed to be energy, 

 mannerically the same as magnetism, chemicity, heat and light, 

 . . . " " Under the theory here advanced light is supposed 

 to be polarized when the densitional movements are not parallel 

 with the lines of propagation, not normal to the densits. In 

 other words, polarization . is densitional denormalization, the 

 denormalization being caused by densitic intersection." 



h. s. u. 



