438 Book reviews

broadly, and many topics on the margins of the main-stream polymer science have been generously included. Those worth specific notice include:

(in Volume A12) Gelatin (12 pp.), Glass and Glass ceramics (83 pp. in total) (from Corning), Glyoxal (4 pp.) (from SOC. Francaise Hoechst), and Hexamethylene diamine (4 pp.) (from DuPont); (in Volume A13) High Performance Fibers (24 pp.) (from Teijin, Osaka), Hydrogenation and dehydro- genation (12 pp.) (from Linde), and Hydroquinone (8 pp.) (from Tennessee Eastman); (in Volume A14) Information storage materials (70 pp.) (from DuPont/Philips), Inorganic polymers (22 pp.), Ion exchangers (66 pp.) (from Rohm and Haas/Arden), Isocyanates (15 pp.) (from Dow), and Isoprene (17 pp.) (from BASF); (in Volume A15) Ketenes (12 pp.) (from Lonza), Ketones (18 pp.) (from BASF), Leather and imitates (43 pp.) (from TH Darmstadt and J. H. Benecke), Lignin (11 pp.) (from Diashowa, Wisconsin), and Liquid crystals (32 pp.) (from BDH/Merck (UK)); (in Volume A16) Melamine and Guanamines (15 pp.) (from BASFJMelamine Industries (US)), Membranes and membrane separations pro- cesses (76 pp.) (from Stuttgart U.), Metal-matrix composites (1 3 pp.) (from Vereinigte Aluminiumwerke), and Methacrylic acid and derivatives (12 pp.) (from Rohm and Haas); (in Volume A17) Non-woven Fibers (24 pp.) (from Carl Freudenberg); (in Volume A 1 8) Organometallic compounds and homogeneous catalysis (32 pp.) (from Henkel), Paints and coatings (185 pp.) (many authors), and Paper and pulp (146 pp.) (many authors); (in Volume A19) Peptide and protein hormones (96 pp.) (from Hoechst), Peptide synthesis (14 pp.) (from Bissendorf Biochemicals and Bachem (US)), Phenolic resins (14 pp.) (from Hoechst); (in Volume A20) Photography (160 pp.) (from Agfa-Gevaert), Plasticizers (20 pp.) (from ICI Runcorn), Plastics additives (49 pp.) (from Sandoz), Plastics analysis (38 pp.), Plastics, General survey (118 pp.) (from Michigan Molecular Institute, Midland), and Plastics Processing (95 pp.) (from Inst. fur Kunststoffverarbeitung, Aachen).

There is much of interest to polymer scientists in these volumes, and apart from the study of particular topics, the whole work (although rather weighty, in both size and purchase cost) makes wonderful browsing for any industrial chemist. The Encyclopedia is not yet complete enough to recommend as a comprehensive reference text: although there are many well-thought cross-references, the absence (so far) of a complete index makes rapid location of individual topics a real difficulty. Since this main part of the work is intended to have a further eight volumes (and also a second ‘B-series’, of 8 volumes, on ‘General Knowledge’, which has only just

begun to appear) publication of the index volume appears, regrettably, to be several years away.

C. A. Finch

Polymeric foams: Handbook of polymeric foams and foam technology Edited by Daniel Klempner and Kurt C. Frisch. Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich, 1991. Distributed in USA and Canada by Oxford University Press. pp. 442, price f87.00. ISBN 3-446-15097-8.

This book is intended for scientists and engineers engaged in research, product development and the manufacture of solid polymer foams. It covers the main types of foam, including flexible, semiflexible, and rigid thermoset and thermoplastic materials and considers their chemistry, structure, properties, structure-property relationships, methods of preparation, commercial manufacture and applications. Chapters 2 and 3, by Saunders and Shutov, respectively consider fundamental aspects of foam formation, foam structure and the relationship between structure and mechanical and heat transfer behaviour. The remaining 13 chapters focus on specific classes of foam: Flexible Polyurethane Foams (Bailey); Rigid Polyurethane Foams (Backus); Polyisocyanurate Foam (Ashida); RIM and PRIM Foams (Tabor and Turner); Polystyrene and Structural Foam (Suh); Polyolefin Foam (Park); PVC Foam (Brathun and Zingsheim); Epoxy Foams (Horner); Urea-Formaldehyde Foam (Baumann); Latex Foam and Sponge (Mausser); Silicone Foams (Harper and Bauman); Fluoropolymer Foams (Gupta) and Syntactic Polymer Foams and Blowing Agents for Polymer Foams (Shutov).

Each chapter is supported by an extensive bibliography: many introduce non-functional considerations such as health and safety and combustibility. Chapters on the less well documented areas, such as polyolefin, PVC and fluoropolymer foams, are illuminating. Although it does not address some outstanding issues concerning the physics of the final product and aspects of matrix polymer morphology the book achieves what it was intended for-a statement and analysis of our understanding of the technology of a wide variety of foams. The organisation of the chapters allows workers to appreciate the technology and practical aspects of the complex processes involved in foam formation, manufacture, properties and applications. Although the science and technology of solid plastic foams has progressed since it was written this is a book that is well worth examining.

N. C. Hilyard

POLYMER INTERNATIONAL VOL. 32, NO. 4,1993