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

As I was saying about this phantom circuit, it is used a good deal now.

From The Ear in the Wall by Reeve, Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin)

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

From Cyclopedia of Telephony and Telegraphy, Vol. 2 A General Reference Work on Telephony, etc. etc. by McMeen, Samuel

The use of phantom circuits is confined almost wholly to open-wire circuits; and while the capacity of the phantom circuit is somewhat greater than that of the physical circuit, its resistance is considerably smaller.

From Cyclopedia of Telephony and Telegraphy, Vol. 2 A General Reference Work on Telephony, etc. etc. by McMeen, Samuel

One uncanny device, which would seem to be a mere inventor's fantasy if it had not already saved the telephone companies four million dollars or more, is known as the "phantom circuit."

From The History of the Telephone by Casson, Herbert Newton

A phantom circuit is formed most simply when both physical lines end in the same two offices.

From Cyclopedia of Telephony and Telegraphy, Vol. 2 A General Reference Work on Telephony, etc. etc. by McMeen, Samuel