BotCan Kirchoff's Laws Be Applied to Non-Conservative Circuits?

AI Thread Summary
Kirchoff's Laws are not applicable to non-conservative circuits, such as those containing inductors, because they are designed for specific systems, primarily all-resistor circuits. The discussion highlights that while Kirchoff's Laws can be derived from Maxwell's equations, they do not encompass the complexities of non-conservative systems. Faraday's laws are considered more general as they account for electromagnetic induction, which Kirchoff's Laws do not. The distinction between these laws emphasizes the importance of context in applying mathematical descriptions to different physical systems. Understanding these differences is crucial for accurately analyzing electrical circuits.
Arvind_CSMaster
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Why can't Kirchoff's Laws be applied to a non-conservative circuit?. I'll be looking forward to a good discussion.
 
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Hi Arvind, welcome to PF!

What is a non conservative circuit? I have never heard the term.
 
I guess that term is wrong. Suppose there is an inductor in a circuit, it is said the conceptually Faraday's laws are more superior that Kirchoff's laws. Why?
 
Your question is why does a description of what happens with an all-resistor circuit fail when you use a non-all-resistor circuit? Same reason a law about gasses fails when you talk about solids, or a law about metals fails when talking about non-metals, and so on. A mathematical description of a certain system describes that system - not necessarily some other system.
 
Arvind_CSMaster said:
is said the conceptually Faraday's laws are more superior that Kirchoff's laws. Why?

They are for 2 different things ... you cannot really compare them

have you even googled the 2 to see the differences ?
 
Okay, thank you guys!
 
Arvind_CSMaster said:
I guess that term is wrong. Suppose there is an inductor in a circuit, it is said the conceptually Faraday's laws are more superior that Kirchoff's laws. Why?
I wouldn't say specifically Faraday's law is superior. What you can say is that you can derive KCL and KVL from Maxwell's equations, but not the other way around. But you need all of Maxwell's equations, not just Faraday's law. And a better term is "more general" rather than "superior".
 

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