phantom circuit

American  

noun

Electricity.

1. a circuit derived from two suitably arranged pairs of wires, each pair being a circuit side circuit and also acting as one half of an additional derived circuit, the entire system providing the capabilities of three circuits while requiring wires for only two.

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Etymology

Origin of phantom circuit

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

A phantom circuit good enough for call circuit purposes would be good enough for actual commercial messages, therefore, it is customary to furnish such originating and receiving operators with Morse telegraph sets.

From Project Gutenberg

When four wires are arranged to provide three metallic circuits for telephone purposes, two of the lines are physical circuits and one is a phantom circuit.

From Project Gutenberg

Phantom Circuit View full size illustration.

From Project Gutenberg

The phantom circuit uses one of the physical pairs as a wire of its line.

From Project Gutenberg

The currents of the phantom circuit, unlike those of the physical circuits, are in the same direction in both wires of a pair at any instant.

From Project Gutenberg