Flux surface surrounding a charge "q" is "q"/ε. In free space the electric displacement is given by the constitutive relation D = ε E, so for any bounding surface the D-field flux equals the charge "Q" within it. Here the expression "flux of" indicates a mathematical operation and, as can be seen, the result is not necessarily a "flow", since nothing actually flows along electric field lines. The magnetic flux density (magnetic field) having the unit Wb/m (Tesla) is denoted by B, and magnetic flux is defined analogously: with the same notation above. The quantity arises in Faraday's law of induction,
Magnetic flux quantum quantization was discovered experimentally by B. S. Deaver and W. M. Fairbank and, independently, by R. Doll and M. Näbauer, in 1961. The quantization of magnetic flux is closely related to the Little–Parks effect, but was predicted earlier by Fritz London in 1948 using a phenomenological model. The inverse of the flux quantum, , is called the Josephson constant, and is denoted . It is the constant of proportionality of the Josephson effect, relating the potential difference across a Josephson junction to the frequency of the irradiation. The Josephson effect is very widely used to provide a standard for high-precision