A proper model for the partitioning of electrical circuits

Partitioning algorithms for electrical circuits are often based on the heuristic manipulation of a simple element-to-element interconnection matrix. However, the element-to-element interconnection matrix does not properly represent an electrical interconnection, or “net”, among more than two elements. This paper expands on several aspects of the discrepancy: 1) its source, 2) the circumstances under which it is likely to be significant, and its magnitude for typical circuits, and 3) the comparative difficulty and expense of using a more appropriate representation.