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Industrial Group of the BCA
Book reviews
This is a general Physical Chemistry textbook intended f
or
undergraduates in their first and second years of a Chemistry
B.Sc. It covers all the usual topics such as quantum mechanics,
thermodynamics and kinetics. Chapter 3 is of particular interest
as it covers first point group symmetry, with a startling picture
of a large Doberman dog as an illustration of
sn symmetry, immediately followed by a
description of crystal symmetry. This arrangement works well. The
description of X-ray crystallographic analysis, later in the same
chapte
r, is beautifully written and a model of conciseness,
covering all the major topics from the Bragg equation through to
the representation of electron density by a Fourier series, with
equations, all in just 16 pages. Unfortunately, I feel that this
may be its Achilles heel, as the average first, or even second
year student is likely to encounter problems when learning from
such a compact text. Unfortunately, the description also omits
any mention of powder diffraction, or neutron diffraction and has
missed the opportunity of guiding students to computer databases
of structures, which have been available for some time. Generally I found the book a little old fashioned. In the
quantum mechanics chapter, there is only one paragraph on
tunnelling, and this fails to mention the scanning tunnelling
microscope (STM), a rather serious omission since the STM is the
only technique by which individual atoms can be directly observed
and manipulated. I also feel that the use of a pair of
hea
dphones, to obtain a balance on a Wheatstone bridge when
measuring the resistance of an electrolyte, may give the student
the wrong impression of current technology. There is also no
material on statistical thermodynamics, reaction dynamics or
lasers and only a mention of surface chemistry; but perhaps these
are third or fourth year subjects. When compared with similar texts such as P.W. Atkins,
"Physical Chemistry", 6th Edn., and G.M. Barrows, "Physical
Chemistry", 6th Edn, which hav
e a similar price, it is clear that
this "Introduction to Physical Chemistry" is shorter, as would be
expected from its title. Interestingly, Atkins and Ladd's books
are the first two I have encountered which try hard to utilise
computers as learning aids. Ladd gives a world wide web (WWW)
address Having been somewhat critical of Mark Ladds "Introduction to Physical Chemistry", I must end on a positive note. Th e chapter which deals with the solid state is excellent. It combines the solid state physics of band structures and free electron theory, with structural descriptions which are more usually the province of inorganic chemistry. This is unusual in a general physical chemistry text and is a definite high point of the book. Robert G Jones, Editor's Notes:
A Practical Gui
de for the Preparation
of Specimens This new book is aimed at the practical scientist, both beginner and experienced, who needs to extract a sample from a bulk material and prepare a representative homogeneous specimen for analysis. The 31 contrib utors impart some necessary repetition, but overall the book has a logical flow and is easy to read. The coverage of a wide range of materials is split in favour
of those used for X-Ray Diffraction. Although this review
concentrates on the Diffraction aspects many of the comments are
equally applicable to the Fluorescence content. The book starts
with a general introduction covering basic statistics, obtaining
a representative sample from a bulk, grinding, absorption,
crystallinity and par
ticle effects and includes 26
references. The coverage is detailed and for beginners will provide all the information needed to embark on the preparation of powder diffraction specimens. The experienced user may find that the coverage of their particular speciality falls short of their expectations. However, for procedures a nd materials that are unfamiliar, the book will be invaluable. Materials covered include metals, minerals, clays, zeolites, forensics, paper, reactive, toxic, radioactive and explosive. Preparation techniques are included for small samples and thin films. The new aerosol suspension technique is described well with good supporting diagrams. A whole chapter is devoted specifically to specimens for cameras and there are sections on high-pressure studies and synchrotron radiation. Chapter 8 covers the e quipment necessary for sample preparation for both techniques. It includes lists of equipment required and vendor addresses. The final chapter is devoted to X-Ray Fluorescence Standards and instrumental dricorrection. Many laboratories that use both techniques and only buy one copy because of the high price in the UK, might have a conflict of ownership. If I have a criticism it has to be the US bias in the materials and suppliers lists. Has anyone in the UK heard of Tackiwax or Cow gum? Fi nding an item of interest is sometimes difficult with the list of contents often being more useful than the index. The book should be read from cover to cover and not just used for reference.This text is ideally suited for conversion to a multimedia CD-ROM with video clips of the various preparation procedures. Web links could provide updated information, references and country specific supplier information. Many scientists spend too little time on specimen preparation, preferring to devot e their time to the more interesting and rewarding data processing aspects. Their results can be unreliable because specimens are not reproducible or representative. Following the principles outlined in this book will produce good specimens and lay the foundations for analytical reliability. This book is a must for the reference shelves of all X-ray analysis laboratories. Dave Taylor |
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