ELECTIiOANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY AND INTERFACIAL ELEC.%ROCJ5EMISTRY Ekkier Sequoia S.k,‘Lausanne - Printed in Tlie Netherlands

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Berqfskundliche Reihe zur Fachzeitschrift Chemie fir Labor und Betriebe: Band IO, Zahlentafel und Meikbliitter, by. Reinhold Ellmer, 82 pages, DM 8.50; Band 11, Rechnen in der Chemie mit Grossengleichungen by Werner Kischio, 300 pages, DM 19.80; Band 12, Aufgabensammlung zum Fachrechnenfir Chemie Laboranten by Rein- hold Ellmer, 138 pages, DM 11.80. Umschau Verlag, Frankfurt, 1969.

: These three paper-covered volumes form part of a continuing series of ele-:

mentary textbooks. Volume 10 is a short collection of chemically useful information, mainly numerical but containing also details of distillation columns and methods of temperature measurement.. Although S. I. units are discussed on p. 46 there is no attempt to use them elsewhere, all thermo-chemical quantities are given in calories. Standard potentials (p. 43) are given using the old German convention which is used nowhere else in the world (i.e. E” = - 3.02 V for Cs + Cs+ -J- e instead of Cs+ + e - Cs). The problem of units of solubility products (p. 36), dissociation constants (p. 41), cryoscopic constants and ebullioscopic constants (15. 42) is not considered. The dis- cussion of Faraday’s laws is made unnecessarily complicated. This volume is unlikely to be used outside Germany.

Volume 11 in contrast deals caremy and clearly with the technique of calcula- tions in chemistry. The quantity, its units and dimensions are discussed in each case. It is unfortunate that the spirit of this book has not informed the other two books reviewed here. In this volume Faraday’s Laws are set out simply, clearly and correctly. SoiubiIity products, etc. are taken as dimensionless by defining them in terms of relative activities. The subject matter is elementary @e-university work in Great Britain) and the book could be used widely as an aid to learning chemical German as well as chemical calculations. Its modernity can be illustrated by the remark (p. 16) “In the U.S.4. the foot and inch are used as units of length- (my italics).

Volume 12 is a collection of short and elementary problems starting with arithmetic and finishing with graph plotting. Most of them concern elementary physical chemistry or analytical chemistry.

Roger Parsons, University of Bristol

J. Elekroanal. Cfwm., 30 (1971) 141