The Self-Educator in Chemistry

Abstract

THE intention and hope of the series to which this book belongs is that “the most isolated student will be able, without other aid, to ground himself in the various subjects dealt with.” It is much to be doubted whether Mr. Knight's book will achieve any such purpose. Grounding in a subject is usually held to mean the laying down of substantial foundations, whereas this book is calculated rather to give superficial and miscellaneous information. It will give the reader no idea of the methods by which the principles of chemistry have been. established, how chemical knowledge grows, or how chemists work and think. Within the first four pages the reader is introduced to atoms and molecules, graphic formuhe and the mysteries of the nascent state, whilst on the fifth he is told, “the statement that the atomic weight of oxygen is 16, means that a cubic inch, say, of oxygen is 16 times as heavy as a cubic inch of hydrogen. The atomic weight of substances like copper and carbon, which are not gases at all, are got in a more round-about fashion.” The Self-Educator in Chemistry. James Knight M.A., B.Sc., F.C.S., F.G.S., F.E.I.S. John Adams M.A., B.Sc. Pp. xxiv + 162. (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1901.) Price 2s. 6d.