3 708 REVIEW OF BOOKS is the absence of any reference to possible new and potentially significant applications for polymer latices. Novel applications may well be found in at least two directions, namely, those which exploit the large polymer-aqueous-phase specific surface area of latices, and those which exploit the electrical dissymmetry which is present at the interface between polymer and aqueous phase in the case of electrostatically stabilised latices. No reference is made in this book to the efforts which have so far been made to exploit for medical purposes the adsorptive and binding potentialities of the large area of polymer-aqueous-phase interface in latices. Nor is there any mention of possible catalytic applications of this large interfacial area. So far, catalytic applictions have been confined to those which rely essentially upon enhancement of the counter-ion concentration in regions of the electrical double layer which are near to the polymer surface.However, it is at least possible that the adsorptive capacity of the interface may also be useful in catalytic applications. Some discussion of possibilities such as these would have been welcome. D. C. BLACKLEY Received 14th April, 1982 Shock Waves in Chemistry. Ed. by ASSA LIFSHITZ. (Marcel Dekker, New York, 1981). Pp. ix + 390. Price SFr 182. After a somewhat hesitant start, the use of shock waves to study chemical and physical processes at high temperatures has become an accepted technique and reliable kinetic data can be obtained in this way. Several books have been written, notably by Bradley and by Gaydon and Hurle, which describe not only the underlying principles and the experimental procedures but also give some account of the early results obtained using shock waves to provide high temperatures for short, well defined times in the reactant gases.Inevitably, these books have become rather dated. This new book, edited by Lifshitz, is rather different. It is a collection of self-contained review articles on various aspects of shock waves. The first (by Khandelwal and Skinner) is concerned with hydrocarbon oxidation, and the next (by Tsang) describes the results obtained using the comparative rate technique which he has pioneered. Both these articles include extensive lists of references and represent useful summaries of the present situation.Boyd and Burns have contributed a chapter on dissociation-recombination reactions, while Kiefer describes the laser-schlieren method which he has done so much to develop. There is another chapter by an acknowledged expert, Just, on atomic resonance absorption spectrometry. Under shock-tube conditions it is very seldom that the concentrations of radicals and other species reach a steady state, and so the classical Bodenstein steady-state approximation cannot be used. Instead, it is necessary to integrate the differential equations describing the time-variation of species concentration, and Gardiner, Walker and Wakefield have provided a useful guide to the computational procedures available in this and other aspects of shock-tube work.In addition to these contributions there is another by Bar-Nun on Chemical Aspects of Shock Waves in Planetary Atmospheres which, although interesting in itself, fits rather uneasily with its companions. As is inevitable in a book of this type the standard and style of the chapters varies and there is some overlapping material; none of this, however. represents a serious drawback. What is more difficult to understand is the audience for whom the book is intended. Each chapter is a useful and interesting review which will appeal to a fairly restricted readership, but, in the opinion of this reviewer, the whole volume lacks coherence. The time-honoured phrase ‘should be on the shelves of every library’ probably applies, though the price, over &50 at the current exchange rate, must cause all university librarians to flinch in these days of U.G.C.cuts. There is still room for the definitive up-to-date book to be written on shock waves in chemistry. J. A. BARNARD Received 5th April, 19823 708 REVIEW OF BOOKS is the absence of any reference to possible new and potentially significant applications for polymer latices. Novel applications may well be found in at least two directions, namely, those which exploit the large polymer-aqueous-phase specific surface area of latices, and those which exploit the electrical dissymmetry which is present at the interface between polymer and aqueous phase in the case of electrostatically stabilised latices. No reference is made in this book to the efforts which have so far been made to exploit for medical purposes the adsorptive and binding potentialities of the large area of polymer-aqueous-phase interface in latices.Nor is there any mention of possible catalytic applications of this large interfacial area. So far, catalytic applictions have been confined to those which rely essentially upon enhancement of the counter-ion concentration in regions of the electrical double layer which are near to the polymer surface. However, it is at least possible that the adsorptive capacity of the interface may also be useful in catalytic applications. Some discussion of possibilities such as these would have been welcome. D. C. BLACKLEY Received 14th April, 1982 Shock Waves in Chemistry. Ed. by ASSA LIFSHITZ. (Marcel Dekker, New York, 1981). Pp. ix + 390.Price SFr 182. After a somewhat hesitant start, the use of shock waves to study chemical and physical processes at high temperatures has become an accepted technique and reliable kinetic data can be obtained in this way. Several books have been written, notably by Bradley and by Gaydon and Hurle, which describe not only the underlying principles and the experimental procedures but also give some account of the early results obtained using shock waves to provide high temperatures for short, well defined times in the reactant gases. Inevitably, these books have become rather dated. This new book, edited by Lifshitz, is rather different. It is a collection of self-contained review articles on various aspects of shock waves. The first (by Khandelwal and Skinner) is concerned with hydrocarbon oxidation, and the next (by Tsang) describes the results obtained using the comparative rate technique which he has pioneered.Both these articles include extensive lists of references and represent useful summaries of the present situation. Boyd and Burns have contributed a chapter on dissociation-recombination reactions, while Kiefer describes the laser-schlieren method which he has done so much to develop. There is another chapter by an acknowledged expert, Just, on atomic resonance absorption spectrometry. Under shock-tube conditions it is very seldom that the concentrations of radicals and other species reach a steady state, and so the classical Bodenstein steady-state approximation cannot be used. Instead, it is necessary to integrate the differential equations describing the time-variation of species concentration, and Gardiner, Walker and Wakefield have provided a useful guide to the computational procedures available in this and other aspects of shock-tube work.In addition to these contributions there is another by Bar-Nun on Chemical Aspects of Shock Waves in Planetary Atmospheres which, although interesting in itself, fits rather uneasily with its companions. As is inevitable in a book of this type the standard and style of the chapters varies and there is some overlapping material; none of this, however. represents a serious drawback. What is more difficult to understand is the audience for whom the book is intended. Each chapter is a useful and interesting review which will appeal to a fairly restricted readership, but, in the opinion of this reviewer, the whole volume lacks coherence. The time-honoured phrase ‘should be on the shelves of every library’ probably applies, though the price, over &50 at the current exchange rate, must cause all university librarians to flinch in these days of U.G.C. cuts. There is still room for the definitive up-to-date book to be written on shock waves in chemistry. J. A. BARNARD Received 5th April, 1982