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

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the applicability of Kirchhoff's Laws in non-conservative circuits, with participants exploring the relationship between Kirchhoff's Laws and Faraday's Laws, particularly in the context of circuits containing inductors.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions the applicability of Kirchhoff's Laws to non-conservative circuits, seeking clarification on the term "non-conservative circuit."
  • Another participant suggests that the term may be incorrect and proposes that Faraday's Laws are conceptually superior to Kirchhoff's Laws in certain contexts.
  • A participant draws an analogy, stating that the failure of a law applicable to one system (like an all-resistor circuit) when applied to another system (like a circuit with inductors) is akin to the limitations of laws in different physical contexts (gases vs. solids).
  • Some participants argue that Kirchhoff's Laws and Faraday's Laws serve different purposes and should not be directly compared, with one noting that Kirchhoff's Laws can be derived from Maxwell's equations, which encompass more than just Faraday's Law.
  • There is a suggestion that "more general" is a more appropriate term than "superior" when discussing the relationship between these laws.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the applicability and relationship between Kirchhoff's Laws and Faraday's Laws, indicating that multiple competing perspectives remain unresolved.

Contextual Notes

Some assumptions about the definitions of "non-conservative circuits" and the specific contexts in which Kirchhoff's Laws may fail are not fully explored, leaving room for further clarification.

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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