Electrical elements are conceptual abstractions representing
idealized electrical components, such as
resistors,
capacitors, and
inductors, used in the
analysis of
electrical networks. Any electrical network can be analysed as multiple, interconnected electrical elements in a schematic diagram or
circuit diagram, each of which affects the
voltage in the network or
current through the network. These ideal electrical elements represent real, physical
electrical or electronic components but they do not exist physically and they are assumed to have ideal properties according to a
lumped element model, while components are objects with less than ideal properties, a degree of uncertainty in their values and some degree of nonlinearity, each of which may require a combination of multiple electrical elements in order to approximate its function.