Book excerpt: Practical Polarography: An Introduction for Chemistry Students provides information pertinent to the fundamental aspects of practical polarography. This book presents the developments in polarography and provides descriptions and procedures that should be readily available for use with any available polarograph. Organized into eight chapters, this book begins with an overview of polarography that is widely employed in chemical analysis because the current-voltage curves show both the quantitative and qualitative composition of the solution. This text then explains the electrode in polarographic electrolysis, which consists either of a mercury pool at the bottom of the electrolytic cell that contains the solution under test, or of a special type of electrode of known potential. Other chapters consider the polarographic reduction of some metal ions and of some organic substances. The final chapter deals with the tables containing selected data of half-wave potentials measured against a saturated calomel electrode at 20-25°C. This book is a valuable resource for students, technicians, and chemists.