Treatment in circuit theory[edit]

In circuit analysis and electrical engineering, the voltage across an inductor is not considered to

be zero or undefined, as the standard definition would suggest. This is because electrical
engineers use a lumped element model to represent and analyze circuits.
When using a lumped element model, it is assumed that there are no magnetic fields in the
region surrounding the circuit and that the effects of these are contained in 'lumped elements',
which are idealized and self-contained circuit elements used to model physical components.[7] If
the assumption of negligible leaked fields is too inaccurate, their effects can be modelled
by parasitic components.
In the case of a physical inductor though, the ideal lumped representation is often accurate. This
is because the leaked fields of the inductor are generally negligible, especially if the inductor is
a toroid. If leaked fields are negligible, we find that

is path-independent, and there is a well-defined voltage across the inductor's terminals.[6] This is

the reason that measurements with a voltmeter across an inductor are often reasonably
independent of the placement of the test leads.