The First Law of Stovebolt Electro-mechanical Physics is "Establish good, clean ground
connections."
The first corollary to the first law is "The best path of electrical resistance is the least path of electrical distance."
The second corollary is "The diameter of wire equals the number of electrons that can be transported in that wire times 10 to the 478th."
There is also an unproven maxim that states, "The amount of smoke contained and remaining in any device or wire subject to the First Law of Stovebolt Electro-mechanical Physics is directly proportional to the percentage of compliance with the first law and its corollaries."
The problem with proving this maxim is (as has been discussed throughout the Stovebolt Garage for centuries) that "smoke," much like enthalpy and entropy, cannot be seen or measured inside electrical devices and wires.
Thus far, every attempt to prove the maxim involves destructive testing. Any test procedure resulting in measurable "smoke" causes the electro-mechanical properties of the device or wire to be so dramatically altered, that the necessary peer review to replicate the test on the same device and, thereby "prove" the maxim, is impossible.
Therefore, we are left with nothing more than doing our best to comply with the First Law of Stoveolt Electro-mechanical Physics.
