also include phase transitions, chemical theory, practice, and applications of Mess- the effect of ion-ion forces at higher
rces at higher solute
reactions, population growth, and economic
models. This book introduces non-linear
systems, i.e. non-linear oscillations, bifurca-
tion, symmetry breaking, and chaos, to the
physicist. It is a clear, thought provoking
text-book for physics undergraduates in
their final year. The mathematical elements
are introduced and motivated by diverse
physical applications, and sometimes illus-
trated by simple experiments. There are
many excercises. The author ruminates on
the philosophical and sociological implica-
tions of the theory, but wisely confines his
ruminations by square brackets so that
students will know when he is not writing ex
cuthedra. Without wishing to detract from
my enthusiasm for the concept, spirit, and
writing of the book as a whole, I note that
the text is not unflawed by misprints and
errors of detail. I hope that several physics
departments will initiate courses based on
the book so that the first impression will be
sold out and the flaws soon corrected.
P. G. Drazin
Miissbauer Spectroscopy and its
Applications. By T. E. Cranshaw, B. W.
Dale, G. 0. Longworth and C. E.
Johnson. Pp. 179. Cambridge University
Press, 1986. Hardback f20.00 ($29.951,
Paperback f7.95 ($12.95)
Since the discovery by Rudolf M6ssbauer in
1958 of recoil-free nuclear resonance
fluorescence, the technique now known as
Miissbauer spectroscopy has developed as a
powerful method by which many different
types of solid materials may be examined in
a variety of scientific disciplines.
This short book provides a good introduc-
tion to Mbssbauer spectroscopy and its
application in diverse areas of science. The
initial chapters describe the MGssbauer
effect, the fundamental principles of M&s-
bauer spectroscopy, and the instrumentation
which is required for the operation of the
technique. Then follows a description of the
use of the MGssbauer effect for the study of
gamma radiation, the testing of various
aspects of relative theory, and the assess-
ment of atomic motion in solids. A chapter
on hyperfine interactions describes the
interactions between nuclei and their elec-
trons which gives rise to the three principal
Miissbauer parameters.
The second half of the book is concerned
with the application of Massbauer spectros-
copy in various areas of solid state chemis-
try, metallurgy, biochemistry, surface scien-
ce, archaeology, the fine arts, and studies of
magnetism and radiation damage. In these
chapters the operation of Miissbauer spec-
troscopy in conventional transmission - and
in alternative modes of operation, including
backscatter techniques and Miissbauer emis-
sion studies - are described and each chapter
contains examples which illustrate the spe-
cial power of Massbauer spectroscopy in
each particular application.
Although the book is not a competitor to
the more comprehensive texts on the
158
bauer spectroscopy, it is written in a very
readable way and the cost of the paperback
edition makes it a very suitable introductory
text for new postgraduate students and
research workers wishing to assess the use
of Miissbauer spectroscopy in a variety of
fields.
F. Berry
Spectroscopy of Biological Molecules.
Edited by A. J. P. Alix, L. Bernard and M.
Manfait. Pp. 465. Wiley, Chichester. 1985.
f28.00
This book contains a collection of papers
from the first European Conference on the
Spectroscopy of Biological Molecules in
Rheims, France, 1985. The title is perhaps
too general, as it is in no way a general
introduction or discussion of the subject.
However many subfields are covered, with
the emphasis on various forms of Raman
spectroscopy, such as: micro Raman, reso-
nance enhanced Raman, surface enhanced
Raman, and non-linear Raman. Most of
these techniques and applications are de-
scribed in short reviews (invited lectures).
Infra-red spectroscopy forms the second
largest contribution and can be subdivided
into IR, Fourier-transform IR, and total
internal reflection IR. Closely related to the
above techniques are a number of contribu-
tions on vibrational mode analysis of
biological molecules. A very small number
of contributions on microfluorescence and
time-resolved fluorescence are included.
In general, this book is useful for
scientists working in the field of the
spectroscopy of biomolecules, in particular
those interested in the theory, instrumenta-
tion, and application of Raman and IR
spectroscopy. The relatively fast production
of the book makes it useful for a, perhaps
not too long, period of time in this rapidly
progressing field.
R. W. Wijnaendts van Resandt
Ion Solvation. By Yizhak Marcus. Pp. 306.
Wiley, Chichester. 1986. f42.00.
Almost thirty years ago, R. P. Bell in an
article in Endeuvour stressed the importance
of an understanding of ionic hydration
because of its influence on a wide variety of
processes in physical chemistry, industry,
and biology. He predicted that use of
spectroscopy (especially NMR) would lead
to new insights, and pointed out the paucity
of reliable data at that time on solvation by
non-aqueous solvents.
In this comprehensive and detailed review
of ion-solvent interactions, Professor Mar-
cus shows how far the subject has progres-
sed in the intervening years. His monograph
provides an in-depth discussion of the
statistical and thermodynamic basis, and the
structural and kinetic aspects of ion solva-
tion. He begins by considering interactions
in the gas phase, and proceeds to cover
salvation in aqueous and non-aqueous
media, selective solvation in mixtures, and
concentrations. The final chapter illustrates
the application of some of the concepts of
ion solvation to a number of chemical
processes of theoretical and practical in-
terest.
Perhaps the most notable feature of this
book is the extensive tabulation of quantita-
tive data on all aspects of the subject.This,
together with an excellent index, makes it
an invaluable source book, which can be
thoroughly recommended to anyone with an
interest in electrolyte solutions.
C. A. Vincent
Biocatalysts in Organic Synthesis. Edited
by J. Tramper, H. C. van der P/as, and P.
Linko. P. xii + 260. Elsevier, New York
and Amsterdam. 1985. $77.75
(Df1.210.00)
The potential use of biocatalysts in organic
chemical processing was the subject for a
symposium arranged by the European
Federation of Biotechnology last year in
Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands. The
key question pursued at this meeting was to
what extent biocatalysts - enzymes and cells
- can be expected to find use in organic
chemical processing in general and, in
particular, to what extent and in what areas
the biocatalysts may be advantageously
applied in actual industrial chemical pro-
cesses.
The symposium was exceedingly well
attended by experts from industry, technical
high schools, universities, and other in-
volved organisations, the contributions from
which are now collected in the proceedings
of the symposium. These appear as highly
worthwhile reading, thanks among other
things to the diverse backgrounds of the
many contributers. For example, delegates
from industry provide the reader with down
to earth facts and up to date information on
the subject while the most important
research aspects are well covered through
contributions by academic delegates.
The conclusion of the symposium was that
biocatalysts must be expected to find an
important place in industrial chemical pro-
cessing. This will be one of the less
spectacular applications of the biosciences:
in fact, a silent revolution to the benefit of
industry, the environment, and the consum-
er. For anyone with an interest in these
matters the book can be recommended.
S. Godtfredsen
Handbook of Aqueous Electrolyte
Solutions. By A. L. Horvath. Pp. 631. Ellis
Horwood, Chichester. 1985. f69.50
There can be very few chemists and
chemical engineers who have not spent
many frustrating hours searching the che-
mical literature for some seemingly quite
simple property of electrolyte solutions
which may be of importance to their work,
whether it be academic or industrial. Mr
Horvath’s book will go a long way to
simplify and alleviate this problem. After a
short introductory chapter on the theory of
aqueous electrolyte solutions, the majority
of the book is devoted to a section-by-
section discussion of electrolyte properties
which have been measured, where the data
may be found, and how it correlates with
the general theoretical picture. There are
approximately 1800 references to the origin-
al literature where the necessary data can be
located. The electrolyte properties discussed
are phase diagrams, vapour pressures,
critical properties, density, compressibility,
velocity of sound, osmotic coefficient, sur-
face tension, viscosity, thermal conductivity,
heat capacity, latent heat of vaporisation,
and entropy
The book can truly be described as
unique and will be an invaluable sourcebook
for physical chemists, chemical engineers,
and geochemists in industrial and academic
research. Regrettably, the price is beyond
most individual purchasers, but certainly all
chemical libraries and some laboratories
should have the book alongside their copy
of the Rubber Handbook.
J. G. Dawber
Metal Ions in Biological Systems. Vol.
19. Antibiotics and their Complexes.
Edited by Helmut Sigel. Pp. 464. Dekker,
New York. 1985. $85.00 (USA & Canada),
$102.00 (all other countries).
This volume concerns the binding of cations
to antibiotics. I would have liked to have
had a short introduction which told me that
there are different kinds of such interac-
tions; that they had (or had not) biological
significance in each case; and that there
were (or were not) common mechanistic
features. For one set of antibiotics, the
ionophores, this introduction would have
separated channel formers from carriers, for
example. I think it would also have grouped
the chapters on the Na ’ /Kt ionophores away
from those on calcium and those on iron or
other heavy metal transporters and away from
the antibiotics which are just given a
conformation, sometimes of doubtful signi-
ficance, by in vitro metal-ion binding. Apart
from this fact, that there is only the common
theme of complex formation, each chapter is
very well written. The chapters are on
lonophores (Pressman - very good to see);
Tetracyclines and Daunorubicin (Bruce Mar-
tin); Streptonigrin (Hajdu); Bleomycin
(Sugiura, Takita, Umezawa); Valinomycin
(Easwaran); Beauvericin (Steinrauf); Grami-
cidins (Hinton, Koeppe); Nactins (Nawata,
Ando, Iitaka); Lasalocid (Painter, Pressman);
Cycloserines (O’Brien); Iron Antibiotics
(Nielands, Valenta); and Theory (Grcsch,
Pullman).
R. J. P. Williams
The Chemical Bond, 2nd Ed. By J. N.
Murrell, S. F. A. Kettle, and J. M. Tedder.
Pp. 333. Wiley, Chichester. 1985.
Paperback f8.95.
An indirect consequence of the invention of
the clcctronic computer is the predominance
in theoretical chemistry of the Molecular
Orbital (MO) method, and the comparative
eclipse of the Valence Bond (VB) approach.
On a longer timescale this shift has also
occurred in the language used by the wider
chemical community. In the first edition of
The Chemical Bond, the authors recognised
that traditional textbooks (including their
own Valence Theory) had not caught up
with these changes and wrote an elementary
introduction to bonding concepts from an
MO standpoint. This stance is maintained in
the second edition.
Accordingly the book has, after some
historical introduction, chapters on Atomic
Orbitals; Periodicity; Molecular Electronic
Wavefunctions; the LCAO Approximation;
Symmetry and Orbitals; MOs and the
electron-pair bond; Hiickel theory; Bond
theory; and Perturbation and Ligand-Field
theories. Then come chapters on VB,
Reactivity, and Intermolecular Forces. The
final chapter is new, a brief introduction to
ab initio (MO) calculations.
The second edition also contains an
additional page on symmetry and updates
various details. There is no mention of the
modern theory of clusters, though this
would fit well with the philosophy of the
book. Overall. this remains a useful intro-
duction to the subject.
P. W. Fowler
ActinidelLanthanide Separations. Edited
by G. R. Choppin, J. D. Navratil and W.
W. Schulz. Pp. 360. World Scientific
Publishing, Singapore. Distributed by
Wiley, Chichester. 1985. f4 1.75.
Isotopes of the lighter lanthanides. and
several actinides. notably plutonium and
americium. are produced, directly or in-
directly, as a result of neutron-induced
fission of uranium and plutonium in nuclear
reactors. They are, therefore. present in
spent fuel and waste fractions from fuel
reprocessing. This volume contains papers
delivered at a symposium which was part of
the scientific programme of the Internation-
al Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin
Societies, held in Honolulu, in December
1984. There are contributions from the
USA (12), Japan (3), France (3), Canada(l),
and the USSR (1) covering develop-
ments, all in applied science, from the time
of the previous symposium in 197X. They
range from small-scale separation for analy-
tical purposes. through laboratory screening
and testing of reagents, to industrial scale
operations. The importance of solvent
extraction in hydro-metallurgical operations
is much in evidence, with reports on
searches for more selective and efficient
extractants. Use of pyrotechniques, e.g.
molten salt extraction for selective removal
of impurities from plutonium, is covered in
some detail and the environmentalist can
take some comfort from ongoing efforts to
decontaminate low-level wastes before dis-
posal
While it cannot be regarded as a balanced
account of work in the field over the period
covered, this book has something to offer
chemists, development scientists, and others
with interest in the nuclear industry.
S. .I. Lyle
The Manufacture of Soaps, Other
Detergents and Glycerine. By Edgar
Woollatt. Pp. 473. Ellis Horwood,
Chichester. 1985. f55.00
The impressive feature of this book is the
remarkable breadth of the treatment of the
subject. Topics include, for example, tech-
nical implications of weight-control legisla-
tion, review of world markets, including
recent trends, as well as the main theme
which is, of course, detailed information on
detergent manufacturing processes and
equipment and an excellent chapter on
glycerine recovery and refining.
The ‘other detergents’ include not only
spray-dried non-soapy detergent powders,
but also the manufacture of such products
without spray-drying. The range of product
types embraces liquids of several kinds,
powder and cream scouring products,
machine dishwashers, bleaches, and lava-
tory cleaners. etc. However packaging
processes are outside the scope of the book.
apart from passing references and some
points of interest on plastic bottles for
liquids.
Some of the historical material, whilst
interesting, has no foreseeable practical
application - for example, the Chilean
process for making soap from sperm whale
oil - while a fuller treatment of ‘fashionable’
topics. such as transparent and striated
soaps, would have been valuable.
The’ style is concise, the text well
illustrated; the table of contents and index
excellent; and the bibliography and lists of
suppliers of equipment and materials most
useful.
D. D. Penkelh
Illustrated Guide to the Protozoa. Edited
by J. J. Lee, S. H. Hutner and E. C.
Bovee. Pp. 630. Allen Press, Lawrence,
for the Society of Protozoologists,
Lawrence, Kansas. 1985. $60 to
members, $80.00 to non-members,
Annotated lists of selected protozoa and
illustrations fill most of this book of 629
pages. The 23 authors use the taxonomic
framework of the classification published in
1980 in Journal of Protozoology; it includes
protistans otherwise known as algae and
fungi. Keys aid the identification of gcncra;
basic techniques are noted; and the glos-
sary. an essential part of a guide. works well
although it was written before its authors
had seen the other chapters. Some illustra-
tions will not assist identification, others will
mislead because they are not reproduced at
the magnification stated in the legend.
Figures with a scale can be trusted and the
precision of text and references is accept-
able.
The last quarter of this century will be
notable for the impact of studies on
molecular biology of Plasmodium, Trypano-
159