where N is the number of turns and I is the current in the coil. In practice this equation is used for the MMF of real inductors with N being the winding number of the inducting coil. Magnetic flux An applied MMF 'drives' magnetic flux through the magnetic components of the system. The magnetic flux through a magnetic component is proportional to the number of magnetic field lines that pass through the cross sectional area of that component. This is the net number, i.e. the number passing through in one direction, minus the number passing through in the other direction. The direction of the magnetic field vector B is by definition from the south to the north pole of a magnet inside the magnet; outside the field lines go from north to south. The flux through an element of area perpendicular to the direction of magnetic field is given by the product of the magnetic field and the area element. More generally, magnetic flux Φ is defined by a scalar product of the magnetic field and the area element vector. Quantitatively, the magnetic flux through a surface S is defined as the integral of the magnetic field over the area of the surface For a magnetic component the area S used to calculate the magnetic flux Φ is usually chosen to be the cross-sectional area of the component. The SI unit of magnetic flux is the weber (in derived units: volt-seconds), and the unit of magnetic flux density (or "magnetic induction", ) is the weber per square meter, or tesla. Circuit models The most common way of representing a magnetic circuit is the resistance–reluctance model, which draws an analogy between electrical and magnetic circuits. This model is good for systems that contain only magnetic components, but for modelling a system that contains both electrical and magnetic parts it has serious drawbacks. It does not properly model power and energy flow between the electrical and magnetic domains. This is because electrical resistance will dissipate energy whereas magnetic reluctance stores it and returns it later. An alternative model that correctly models energy flow is the gyrator–capacitor model. Resistance–reluctance model The resistance–reluctance model for magnetic circuits is a lumped-element model that makes electrical resistance analogous to magnetic reluctance. Hopkinson's law In electrical circuits, Ohm's law is an empirical relation between the EMF applied across an element and the current it generates through that