380 Scientific Intelligence. 



cover all of the usual subdivisions of physics, and they seem to 

 be well arranged and wisely selected. The description of each 

 exercise is presented under the subtitles : " Problem, Apparatus, 

 Experiment, and Application." In most cases, the paragraphs 

 under " Experiment " include a well-drawn diagram of the appa- 

 ratus and a blank tabular form to indicate a systematic plan for 

 recording the numerical data. The " Application " is a note- 

 worthy feature of the volume and, in each case, it comprises 

 several pertinent questions to be answered by the student. For 

 example, in the case of the pendulum, one question is this :- — " A 

 block of stone, just swung clear of the ground by a derrick at 

 the top of a high building, is observed to make one complete 

 swing in 15 sec." "How high is the building?" The last four 

 pages of the book are devoted to the metric system and to a table 

 of 16 " Useful Numbers," such as : — " 10 The specific heat of ice 

 is about 0-505." The typographical errors are few and unim- 

 portant. On the whole, the book seems admirably adapted to 

 subserve the purposes of the authors. h. s. u. 



11. Storage Batteries; by Harry W. Morse. Pp. 266, with 

 106 text-figures. New York, 1912 (The Macmillan Co.). — This 

 book does not contain a preface, but the author's aim and object 

 may be inferred from the last paragraph of the introductory 

 chapter, which reads : — " The following chapters are based on 

 lectures which have been given for the last few years at Harvard 

 University." " In the course the work on storage cells is pre- 

 ceded by study of the general theory of -galvanic cells, and the 

 simplest of this theory has been included in this book." " No 

 attempt has been made to give any of the detail of storage bat- 

 tery engineering, but only to introduce the reader to the peculi- 

 arities of the cell itself." 



The author possesses the happy faculty of presenting his sub- 

 ject in an easy and entertaining style without sacrificing logical 

 sequence and scientific accuracy and thoroughness in the least. 

 Thus, it is rather attractive to read of " the heyday of galvanic 

 cells " and of " a unique battery which harks back to the earliest 

 form." The curves and diagrams are well-drawn and to the 

 point, and the text abounds in solutions of typical numerical 

 examples. Finally, the treatment is well-balanced, since neither 

 the physical nor the chemical aspect of the subject is given undue 

 prominence. h. s. u. 



12. A Laboratory Manual of Physics and Applied Electric- 

 ity ; arranged and edited by Edward L. Nichols. Yol. I. 

 Junior Course in General Physics ; revised and rewritten by 

 Ernest Blaker. Pp. xiii, 41V ; with 135 figures. New York, 

 1912 (The Macmillan Co.). — The excellence of the first edition 

 of this book has already been pointed out in this Journal, (see 

 vol. xlviii, 346, 1894). The revised edition of this manual differs 

 very appreciably in several respects from the earlier publication. 

 As indicated above, it has been almost entirely rewritten. 

 Changes have been made in the treatment of many of the experi- 



