From Andrew Zimmerman Jones,
Your Guide to Physics.
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Definition: An electronic device with a multiple inputs and a single output. The output signal is only transmitted when signals are received at all of the inputs.

The concept of the "method of coincidence" was developed by German physicist Walther Bothe in 1929, for which he received the 1954 Nobel Prize in Physics. Bruno Rossi invented the first electronic coincidence circuit in 1930.

Among other areas, coincidence circuits are widely used in particle physics, such as detecting cosmic rays.