A Primer of ElectronicsA Primer of Electronics by Don P. CaverlyReview by: Gail F. MoultonThe Scientific Monthly, Vol. 59, No. 2 (Aug., 1944), pp. 159-160Published by: American Association for the Advancement of ScienceStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/18408 .

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BOOK REVIEWS

sounded areas of the world continental slopes are those of the coastal areas of the United States. It should be added that the coasts of Alaska and the Philippines are in the same category. Even the deep submarine shapes of the so-called volcanic islands used so often in the literature are inferred from such meager data that one cannot consider them conclusive.

The density current hypothesis does not do violence to geologic ideas based upon the con- cept of relatively permanent sea level; that is, eustatic changes in sea level in Pleistocene or Recent Time not exceeding the order of 300 feet. Although the author suggests that density currents may now be operating in some regions where continental shelves are narrow, no conclusive evidence has been found that the process is in operation any- where in the world today. Conditions favor- able to such bottom currents are supposed, however, to have been effective during Gla- cial Periods.

The exploration of the continental shelves and slopes and oceanic areas by echo sound- ing has opened a broad vista into geologic history. When the present destructive in- terlude is over, we may hope to have a wealth of new data on this subject available to science.

Professor Daly's stimulating lectures will be enjoyed by many readers. His forthright style and lively imagination coupled with his intimate knowledge of earth sciences are well known to American geologists. In this book his capacity for applying "the principle of mutual dependence among the sciences" is thoroughly demonstrated.-PAuL A. SMITH.

HEALTH AND HYGIENE Health and Hygiene. Lloyd Ackerman. Illus-

trated. xii + 896 pp. $5.00. 1943. Jacques Cattell.

THE author has produced a well-docu- mented work free from dogma and of value to the student, the lay reader, or the teacher. Each chapter is followed by a truly impos- ing array of references.

The first chapters are largely historical. They could be improved by a relation of the history, structure, and functions of public health services, both national and local, and a history of medical education in America. Some of the space given to descriptions of

the cults could have been so used to better ad- vantage. Otherwise the book is praiseworthy. The literary style is excellent and entertain- ing, the print is clear, and the references seem to cover the field entirely. Emphasis is laid on mental hygiene, and the treatment is subjective.

Mental diseases are covered as fully as necessary in a work of this sort, and the terms used are reduced to the understanding of the reader who may not have a scientific train- ing. This does not detract from its scientific value; rather it should enhance its value for the student just being introduced to the subject.

The text on vaccines, serums, and vitamins has been stripped down to understandable terms. However, this is so generally true of the whole book that it is superfluous to take up chapters separately.

All in all we have here a scientific treatise on health and hygiene that can be recom- mended highly.-M. F. OSBORN.

A PRIMER OF ELECTRONICS A Primer of Electronics. Don P. Caverly. Illus-

trated. xi+ 235 pp. $2.00. 1943. McGraw-Hill.

REALIZATION that knowledge of the general physical principles on which modern electric devices are based had not been made avail- able to even a small fraction of the number of interested people prompted the prepara- tion and publication of this book. Through the book the nontechnical reader can obtain a brief survey of the broad field of electricity, magnetism, and related topics of physical science. Discussion of basic principles is cleverly interspersed with descriptions of their practical application to form an inter- esting and enlightening review of a broad field.

Electronics is defined in the early part of the book as "that branch of science and tech- nology which relates to the conduction of electricity through gases or in vacuo." The book, however, includes discussions of ultra- violet and infrared, as well as visible, por- tions of the spectrum. These topics, which are not clearly included by the terms of the definition of electronics, make an interesting addition to the text. At the same time, the book would have been more satisfying, at least to the reviewer, if such discussions had

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160 THE SCIENTIFIC MONTHLY

been omitted or curtailed and an equivalent space used for further explanation of the field of electronics in a more restricted sense. In particular, if the sections on capacitive and inductive reactance could have been ex- panded to provide a background for an ade- quate explanation of resonance in radio fre- quency circuits, the average reader would probably have had his interest stimulated further.

The fundamental principles of vacuum tubes and their simple application in radio circuits are clearly described with the aid of excellent illustrations. Considering the com- plexities involved, the discussions of tele- vision, photograph transmission, frequency modulation, the electron microscope, and other relatively new vacuum tube applica- tions are well done. The average reader, whose background probably includes elemen- tary high school science, will find much of interest and value in this book. It is recom- mended for such people if they have any feeling of curiosity as to the how and why of the wonders of modern electronics.-GAiU F. MOULTON.

MEDICAL PHYSICS Medical Physics. Otto Glasser, Editor-in-Chief.

xlvi + 1744 pp., 1382 illus. 1944. $18.00. The Year Book Publishers, Inc.

MEDICAL physics is not exactly a new sub- ject. Its beginning extends to the Middle Ages, but the tempo of applications and dis- coveries has become rapid in the last ten to twenty years. There has grown up a truly stupendous amount of scientific information in this borderline field between physics and medicine. It has, however, suffered from being widely scattered in publications some of which frequently are inaccessible to those most interested.

The text which is the subject of our review is really an encyclopedia in form and scope. The editor and his twenty-two associate edi- tors are to be congratulated that the "small manual" idea of treatment was discarded at this stage of the subject in favor of a more complete and comprehensive treatment. They are further to be congratulated upon enlisting a corps of 245 different specialists, each of whom has prepared articles on one or more subjects. Their 255 articles which

comprise the text of this book are arranged alphabetically under the titles. A list of twenty-three subject sections with the num- ber of articles (Ar.) in each, the number of different authors (Au.), and the name of the associate editor follows:

Subject Ar. Au. Associate editor Anatomy 23 22 Normand L. Hoerr Bacteriology 5 6 Otto Rahn Biometries 4 4 Charles P. Winsor Biophysics 41 48 Otto Glasser Dermatology 4 4 George W. Binkley Hematology 18 12 Eric Ponder Medicine 104 113 Russell L. Haden Neurology 20 25 W. James Gardner Nuclear physics 11 11 Robley D. Evans Ophthalmology 7 8 A. D. Ruedemann Optics 15 15 W. B. Rayton Orthopedics 12 12 James A. Dickson Otolaryngology 9 8 Paul M. Moore Pathology 31 36 Harry Goldblatt Pediatrics 1 1 Norman C. Wetzel Photography 16 16 Leo C. Massopust Physical chemistry 27 28 F. M. Whitacre Physical therapy 29 35 Walter J. Zeiter Physics (methods) 58 66 John G. Albright Physiology 101 111 Harold D. Green Radiology 67 72 Harry Hauser Surgery 40 48 Frederick R. Mautz Urology 15 17 Charles C. Higgins

The text is printed in double columns, and the excellent illustrations are numbered sepa- rately for each article. The working formu- lae and tabular material are noteworthy features of the book. A suggested bibliogra- phy in brief form is appended to virtually all of the articles.

The extensive subject index, which com- prises 44 pages of three columns to the page, is intended to unify this book. The analysis is detailed and appears to be entirely ade- quate. The subject index is followed by a name index of 16 pages, four columns to the page.

The material covered ranges widely and embraces the whole meeting ground of phys- ics, medicine, chemistry, biology, engineering, and other sciences. Under nuclear physics, for example, occur such articles as descrip- tions of betatrons, cyclotrons, Geiger coun- ters, and a discussion of tracer techniques. Under medicine occur such topics as specific gravity and solids of blood, effect of heat and cold, exercise and posture, motor functions, and fever therapy. Then there are splendid discussions of such subjects as chlorophyll,

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