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

"The phantom circuit?" repeated Brixton, chafing at the delay.

From The Dream Doctor by Reeve, Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin)

Because this third circuit travels apparently without wires, in some manner which the scientists have not yet discovered, it is appropriately known as the phantom circuit.

From The Age of Big Business; a chronicle of the captains of industry by Hendrick, Burton Jesse

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

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

In phantom circuits formed merely by inserting repeating coils in physical circuits and doing nothing else, an exact balance of the sides of the phantom circuit is lacking.

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