Leçons sur les Alliages métalliques

Abstract

DURING the last twenty years a systematic study has been undertaken of the properties of alloys, their chemical nature and constitution, and the relations between that constitution and their useful properties. The work has been made possible by the invention of trustworthy pyrometers, by the application of microscopic examination to opaque substances, and by advances in the knowledge of chemical equilibrium. The investigations have in many cases been carried out with an industrial aim, but by throwing light on the chemistry of solid bodies they have contributed largely to the development of pure science. It is true that the whole subject is still to some extent in a state of flux, and much remains to be done in order to explain apparent contradictions, and to remove the uncertainty and provisional nature of some of the conclusions. Nevertheless, it is time to make the fundamental principles of the science of alloys part of the course of training of students of general chemistry. Prof. Cavalier's book shows a pronounced superiority for this purpose over previous attempts, and is one of the manuals which teachers of chemistry may usefully place in the hands of their students. It is based on a series of lectures delivered by the author at the University of Rennes, and is characterised by clearness of thought and of language, logical arrangement, and perfection of balance.

Leçons sur les Alliages métalliques.

By Prof. J. Cavalier. Pp. xix + 466. Illustrated. (Paris: Vuibert et Nony, 1909.)