Smoke in the Wires Oct 2015

Conservation of Mass
noun, Physics.
1. The principle that in any closed system subjected to no external
forces, the mass is constant irrespective of its changes in form;
the principle that matter cannot be created or destroyed.
Also called law of conservation of mass, conservation of matter.
However, much farther down the page, a caveat states that:
The principle does not hold under Special Relativity, since mass
and energy can be converted into one another.
I’m certain Einstein has nothing to say about these vanishing tools as the energy released in converting even a small
hex bit into energy would be far in excess of what the stock cooling system on any of our British cars could handle.
The complete conversion of a 2
gram hex bit would likely
release the same energy as a 41
kiloton (kt) detonation. Better
get the Water Wetter. I know
that this type of mass loss has
not occurred in my garage as
this sort of thing is frowned
upon by my homeowners’
association. I’m sure I would
have received a violation letter
for not obtaining a burning
permit for my 41 kt demolition.
That moves us into the realm of
the supernatural, alternate planes of existence where good tools go to hide out from hapless owners. Like all good
hauntings, you will receive ‘visitations’ and other circumstantial evidence of the lost but never any concrete proof
that the lost tools are still out there.
Some time has now passed since I gave up on finding my lost hex bit, after exhausting every means at my disposal
to recover it. I had already forgotten about the lost bit. Yet, on a night like any other, I finally got the Jaguar back
together and decided to take a short test drive around my neighborhood. As I rounded the first corner, a sudden
quiet fell over the car and the lights dimmed. Most likely this was due to something under the dash going open
circuit but chilling nonetheless. Then, without warning, I heard a rattling noise that sounded just like “Hex bit! Hex
bit!” from under the bonnet. I slammed on the brakes and leapt from the car with the heebie jeebies. I searched
the roadway and the engine bay but the phantom hex bit WAS NOT THERE!
Still, I’m convinced it’s around somewhere, waiting to haunt me some more the next time I reach for my hex bit
that I haven’t gotten around to replacing. . . .
Smoke in the Wires October 2015 Page 23