About the name: I dunno. Something to do with electricity since that's the closest thing. I want to use this stuff for very primitive computers in the far future.
About the other circuit stuff: Hence why it would be something we do. It's easy enough that it can be done as a smaller part of a bigger design.
Anyways. An alternative design that uses simpler techniques that we already know to make something vaguely resembling a "gun". Hell, we could probably try designing this next design phase if we get good rolls and are okay with using a revision. I feel like Evicted would hate us for trying to make guns in the year 931, though.
Future Design: AS-HRW1 "Firerod"
Magic is something that only our magic users, and that's not okay. Imagine the potential if every Arstotzkan could wield magic. This project promises to provide that, or at least the beginnings.
At its core, the Firerod is our own wand of fire. The device is simple - a small chamber vaguely similar to our HC series that'd fit in the hands of a human is equipped with a handle. A gem of similar construct (but less quality for expense reasons) to our anti-magic charm is then inserted into a designated slot in the device, covering the barrel. This gem is, at creation, charged with a large amount of magical energy. The gem is completely inert to external influences of magic, like the anti-magic charm, though some mathemagicians have theorized that if the gems were given an absorbing quality similar to our charms, they could regenerate on the field. But that's a topic to address at a much later date.
A magic circuit created that stretches from the handle to where the gem slot is provides the triggering mechanism. Pressure applied to the part of the circuit on the handle is turned into extremely minute amounts of magical energy that's just enough to "instruct" the gem to release its energy in the form of a fireball spell, propelling the fireball out of the barrel and towards the Firerod's target. The gem is depleted and the soldier holding the firerod takes out the depleted gem and inserts a charged one.
Each soldier also carries around ten of these small gems on their person. They're instructed to keep depleted gems, as recharging gems is easier than manufacturing, and our Mages and Apprentices on the field can easily recharge the gems themselves.
The result is a devastating weapon - no longer will fireballs be restricted to our mages. Regular soldiers can use them on the field with almost no training and our mages can focus on other tasks.
AS-Hybrid Ranged Weapon 1 "Firerod"
Oh yeah. Evicted, does the enchantment/circuit invented in the latest revision allow for our steam engines to be left alone, once started, by apprentices and mages? I'm assuming that it makes maintenance easier but the whole thing isn't based off of the circuit yet.
So, on that note, unless Evicted says that yes it does make the steam engines run without supervision...
Future Revision: Autonomous Steam Engines
Our Steam Engines currently require a mage or apprentice to run them. This isn't acceptable! Our mathemagicians tell us that our battle effectiveness rating could be drastically increased if these mages actually participated in the naval battles instead of toiling away in the steam rooms!
So, using the knowledge gained from the magic circuits already present in steam engines, we automate the whole process. The magic circuit will keep the spells in the steam engine running indefinitely once a mage starts it. This allows a ship's mage to only be required to work on the engine when starting it, and for the rest of the ship's voyage the mage can focus on helping our forces in battle.