What you’ll learn:
- Politics and physics don’t mix.
- Enforcing policies that contradict well-accepted truths is counterproductive, and occasionally disastrous
HR2599, a bill to repeal Ohm’s Law, was approved today by the U.S. Congress and has been put on a fast track for submission to the Senate as early as next week. The bill, which was passed along strict party lines, seeks to eliminate the law that’s responsible for the electrical losses in nearly every type of electrical and electronic device, which are estimated to waste up to 20% of the nation’s available energy.
The bill’s supporters claim that, once ratified, it will give U.S.-based technology companies a competitive edge by freeing them from, as one legislator described it, “the waste and fraud imposed on them by a bunch of unelected so-called scientists.”
More April 1st Mayhem
Reaction to America’s unilateral repeal of Ohm’s Law has been mixed. While at least one EV maker has praised the bill, several leading technologists attempted to explain why the proposed repeal would have no effect on real-world electrical devices, or America’s economy.
The bill’s authors were unimpressed. “As a sovereign nation, America is under no obligation to honor the wasteful and inefficient laws that the rest of the world forces its job creators to observe” said representative Dunning Kruger (R – Oklahoma). “The efficiencies made possible by this commonsense piece of de-regulation will stimulate global sales of American-made electrical equipment while rewarding their customers with significantly lower operating costs.”
Kruger also cited the success of a similar bill passed on April 1 several years ago, which streamlined engineering practices by mandating the value of Pi be rounded down to 3.00.
The floor debate concluded with the testimony of two widely recognized experts who unsuccessfully argued that any attempt to repeal Ohm’s Law would be repealed immediately by “a higher authority.” “Ohm’s Law, much like the principles described by Newton, Lenz, and Einstein, apply to everyone, regardless of their political beliefs” said Robert Pease, a representative from the International Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering Experts (IIEEEE) during his testimony.
The hearing’s final panelist, Montgomery (Scotty) Scott, a Distinguished Fellow from the Starfleet Institute of Technology, restated Pease’s concerns more succinctly, saying “ye canna change the laws of physics, Capt’n.”
After its passage, HR2599, often referred to as “The Great American Efficiency Act,” will be sent to the U.S. Senate, where it’s expected to be ratified and put into effect before the legislators vacate Washington for their spring break.
