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(; 135), a.[Cf. F. virtuel. See Virtue.] 1. Having the power of acting or of invisible efficacy without the agency of the material or sensible part; potential; energizing. Heat and cold have a virtual transition, without communication of substance. Bacon. Every kind that lives, Fomented by his virtual power, and warmed. Milton. 2. Being in essence or effect, not in fact; as, the virtual presence of a man in his agent or substitute. A thing has a virtual existence when it has all the conditions necessary to its actual existence. Fleming. To mask by slight differences in the manners a virtual identity in the substance. De Quincey. Principle of virtual velocities (Mech.), the law that when several forces are in equilibrium, the algebraic sum of their virtual moments is equal to zero. Virtual focus (Opt.), the point from which rays, having been rendered divergent by reflection of refraction, appear to issue; the point at which converging rays would meet if not reflected or refracted スポンサード リンク
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