Question

From Electricity Demystified (Stan Gibilisco):

Kirchhoff's Voltage Law arises from the fact that a potential difference can't exist between any circuit point and itself! A corollary to this is that a potential difference can't exist between any two points that are directly connected by a perfect conductor (that is, one that has theoretically zero resistance).

I had thought that there is an inherent potential difference between the substances at the anode and cathode of the battery. Connecting those with a wire (even a perfect conductor) would not cancel this potential. What am I missing?

Answer 1

But an electrolyte is not a perfect conductor.Perfect conductors do no exist in reality.Electrolytes do have an internal resistence.

Answer 2

What you are talking about cannot happen in reality because you will get a short circuit. You then won't have a situation where potential is the same on both electrodes of the battery.

Answer 3

Gargi: I agree with you, it seems to me that in the situation with a perfect conductor, the highest resistance in the circuit will be the internal resistance between the anode and the cathode. That refutes the above statement that "a potential difference can't exist between any two points that are directly connected by a perfect conductor"

Answer 4

Ezadam: It makes sense that we will get a short circuit. But, that doesn't refute the existence of a potential difference between the anode and the cathode right before that happens.

Answer 5

Well from ohms law, V=IR,if the resistence in the perfect conductor becomes 0 then any electric current will flow through the conductor without any potential difference forever.Mercury and few other metals can act as superconductors with zero resistence at very low temperature at about 4K,but still the scientists are working on this.