= Lumped-element model
A <lumped-element model> represents an <electrical circuit> by discrete ideal elements such as <resistors>, <capacitors> and <inductors>, linked by equipotential <circuit nodes>. Each element is assigned terminal variables, rather than a fully resolved spatial <electromagnetic field>.
This approximation is effective when signal-propagation times across the circuit are short compared with the timescales of interest, and the relevant dimensions are small compared with the <wavelength>. A long cable carrying a rapid pulse may instead require a <transmission line> model: different points on the cable can have different <voltages> at the same instant.
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