Vol. I , No.

347
NEW BOOKS

The International System of Units (Sl). Edited by Chester H. Page and Paul
Vigoureux, National Bureau of Standards Special Publication 330, issued January 1971. 42 pages. 40 cents.
This publication contains an authoritative description of the modernized
metric system, known also as The International System of Units" (internationally
adopted abbreviation: Sl). Prepared j o i n t l y by the National Physical Laboratory, UK, and the National Bureau of Standards, USA, i t is a translation of the
French document, "Le Syst~me International d'Unit6s," issued by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures. (Order PREPAID from the Superintendent
of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402, as SD
Catalog No. C13.10:330; or order PREPAID from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) Springfield, Va. 22151, as NBS Spec. Publ. 330.) This
pamphlet is being published independently by Her Majesty's Stationery Office,
London.

Differential Thermal Analysis: Vol. I~ Fundamental Aspects. Edited by R. C.

Mackenzie. 1970. Academic Press., Inc. New York. xv + 775 pp., i l l u s . $33.
This f i r s t of two volumes gives an authoritative and c r i t i c a l assessment
of the fundamental information available in the f i e l d of d i f f e r e n t i a l thermal
analysis. Twenty-five authors of international renown have collaborated to
provide this comprehensive treatment in as many chapters. Section A provides
general and historical background, basic theory, instrumentation and techniques,
and a chapter on related methods. Section B (Inorganic Materials) provides a
wealth of information of metals and alloys, chalcogenides, oxides and hydroxides of monovalent and divalent metals, oxides and hydroxides of higher-valency
elements, carbonates, simple salts, chlorates and perchlorates, oxysalts, complex salts, inclusion compounds, salt minerals, s i l i c a minerals, simple and
i n t e r s t r a t i f i e d phyllosilicates, and other s i l i c a t e s . Section C consists'of
four chapters on organic materials including polymers.
Serious students or those involved in research and testing will value highly the treatment of theory and instrumentation as well as the review articles
on families of materials. The detailed referencing will save extensive l i t e r ature search for the student or specialist. Though multi-authored, the book
is well edited, the treatment of the subject matter is comprehensive, and the
contributions are well integrated. The cement and concrete researcher will be
especially interested in the general and theoretical treatment provided in the
f i r s t section by the Editor and others; the chapters on salts, carbonates,
oxides, hydroxides and polymers; and in the chapter "Other Silicates" by Glasser which includes calcium silicates and their hydrates. I look forward greatly
to the publication of Vol. 2 with direct industrial applications.
D. M. Roy