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THE METALLURGY OF ALUMINUM AND ALUML NUM ALLOYS. By Robert J. Anderson, Met.E., Sc.D. New York: Baird and Co. $10 net.
Reviewed by D. J. McAdam, Jr., Metallurgist, U. S. Naval Engineering Experiment Station
This is the most extensive book on the subject that has yet appeared. It has 913 pages and 295 illustrations. The references to literature are unusually complete. The list of authors contains more than 500 names. This bibliography consists of references to books and general literature in Chapter I, and a selected bibliography at the end of each chapter.
The subjects of the nineteen chapters are as follows: Chapter I gives a historical survey, a discussion of geographical distribution and general references. Chapters II and III discuss the mining and production of aluminum. Chapters IV and V, physico-chemical properties and corrosion. Chapter VI, general description of aluminum alloys with some photomicrographs. Chapter VII, uses and application of aluminum and its alloys, is very extensive and has numerous illustrations. Chapter VIII, preparation of aluminum alloys, gives details of methods of introducing alloying constituents. Chapter IX on melting practice discusses furnaces and melting methods. Chapter X, secondary aluminum, discusses utilization of scrap. Chapter XI, foundry practice, detailed discussion of methods of difficulties and means of overcoming them. Chapter XII, casting losses and deflects of castings. Chapter XIII, production of die castings, compares die casting and permanent mold casting and gives many illustrations of methods and possibilities. Chapter XIV, rolling and other mechanical treatment. Chapter XV, diagrams of thermal equilibrium, discusses the constitution of alloys by means of diagrams and photomicrographs. Chapter XVI, micrography and macrography, continues the discussion of constitution of alloys. Chapter XVII, heat-treatment of aluminum and its alloys, discusses annealing of cold-worked alloys, and heat-treatment of alloys such as duralumin. Chapter XVIII, soldering and welding. Chapter XIX, drawing and other methods of fabrication.
In general, the author’s discussion of the casting alloys of aluminum is better than his discussion of the wrought alloys and their heat-treatment. His definition of duralumin as “any light aluminum alloy that is susceptible to heat-treatment” is not in accordance with accepted usage. He frequently refers to “duralumins,” “zinc duralumins,” “special duralumins,” etc., whereas the term “duraluminum” should be restricted to an alloy of fairly definite composition. The discussion of alloys for use at elevated temperatures is decidedly incomplete.
While the book is very comprehensive it reminds one of the comment of an ancient writer when at the end of a long letter he apologized, saying; “If I had had more time I could have written you a shorter letter.” Many pages are taken up with descriptions and discussion of various methods with the result that no clear impression is left with the reader. Even in the discussion of a single subject, moreover, there is frequently endless repetition of the same idea, sometimes as many as seven times in two successive pages.
The arrangement of the material in the book is also subject to criticism. For example, in Chapter VI there is a general discussion of aluminum alloys with photomicrographs, whereas the chapters on equilibrium diagrams are deferred until near the end of the book. It seems to the writer that the metallography of aluminum would better have been introduced in or immediately following Chapter VI, so that the reader would have its principles in mind through the long subsequent discussion of aluminum alloys.
In spite of these defects the book is of great value as a reference-book on aluminum.
ELEMENTS OF RADIO COMMUNICATION. By Ellery W. Stone, Lieutenant-Commander, U. S. N. R., Fellow, Royal Society of Arts; Fellow, Institute of Radio Engineers; Member, U. S. Naval Institute. New York City, 1926: D. Van Nostrand Co. $2.50.
Reviewed by Associate Professor G. D. Robinson, Electrical Engineering and Physics, U. S. Naval Academy This, the third edition of what was originally published in 1919 as Elements of Radiotelegraphy, has been revised and considerably enlarged. Being written primarily for radio students in the Communication Service of the Navy, it has been found desirable to make its presentation substantially non-mathematical. The original text was, in the main, a resume of a series of lectures intended for students with little or no technical training. Consequently, the first two chapters are devoted to an explanation of the portion of simple electrical theory needed for an understanding of the following chapters of the book.
An unusual feature of the original edition which is retained in the present edition is the treatment of the development of radio equipment from the Marconi 1896 transmitter down to modern forms of transmitting and receiving equipment. Included in this resume is an unusually thorough treatment of the damped wave transmitter and the “arc” transmitter.
One feature which is thought to be unique is the detailed explanation of the “Nodal Point Signalling System” as applied to the arc transmitter. (This is the type of equipment now used at the high power station, NSS, near Annapolis.) So far as is known, this has not appeared in any other text.
The portion of the text which deals with the three element vacuum tube and circuits for its use has been greatly enlarged since the second edition. It is much better than the preceding edition. The treatment of the three element tube and allied subjects now occupies nearly one fifth of the 433 pages of the book.
Among miscellaneous points of interest might be mentioned: numerous clear photographs, relative freedom from errors, an extensive index, a brief for the use of arcs instead of vacuum tubes, and a list of pertinent papers published by the Bureau of Standards, The Institute of Radio Engineers, and others.