Voltage across the inductor's terminals. This is the reason that measurements with a voltmeter across an inductor are often reasonably independent of the placement of the test leads. The volt (symbol: ) is the derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honour of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745–1827), who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery. A simple analogy for an electric circuit is water flowing in a closed circuit of pipework, driven by a mechanical pump. This can be called a "water circuit". Potential difference between two points
History of electrochemistry considered the brain to be the most important organ for the secretion of this "electric fluid" and that the nerves conducted the fluid to the muscles. He believed the tissues acted similarly to the outer and inner surfaces of Leyden jars. The flow of this electric fluid provided a stimulus to the muscle fibres. Galvani's scientific colleagues generally accepted his views, but Alessandro Volta, the outstanding professor of physics at the University of Pavia, was not convinced by the analogy between muscles and Leyden jars. Deciding that the frogs' legs used in Galvani's experiments served only as an electroscope, he