Manganin is a

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...

ed name for an

alloy An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal. Unlike chemical compounds with metallic bases, an alloy will retain all the properties of a metal in the resulting material, such as electrical conductivity, ductility, ...

of typically 84.2%

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

, 12.1%

manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...

, and 3.7%

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...

. It was first developed by

Edward Weston Edward Henry Weston (March 24, 1886 – January 1, 1958) was a 20th-century American photographer. He has been called "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers..." and "one of the masters of 20th century photography." ...

in 1892, improving upon his

Constantan Constantan is a proprietary name A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recogn ...

(1887). Manganin foil and

wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is c ...

is used in the manufacture of

resistor A resistor is a passive two-terminal electrical component that implements electrical resistance as a circuit element. In electronic circuits, resistors are used to reduce current flow, adjust signal levels, to divide voltages, bias active el ...

s, particularly ammeter shunts, because of its virtually zero temperature coefficient of resistance value and long term stability. Several Manganin resistors served as the legal standard for the

ohm Ohm (symbol Ω) is a unit of electrical resistance named after Georg Ohm. Ohm or OHM may also refer to: People * Georg Ohm (1789–1854), German physicist and namesake of the term ''ohm'' * Germán Ohm (born 1936), Mexican boxer * Jörg Ohm (b ...

in the United States from 1901 to 1990. Manganin wire is also used as an electrical conductor in cryogenic systems, minimizing heat transfer between points which need electrical connections. Manganin is also used in gauges for studies of

high-pressure In science and engineering the study of high pressure examines its effects on materials and the design and construction of devices, such as a diamond anvil cell, which can create high pressure. By ''high pressure'' is usually meant pressures of th ...

shock waves (such as those generated from the detonation of

explosives An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...

) because it has low strain sensitivity but high

hydrostatic pressure Fluid statics or hydrostatics is the branch of fluid mechanics that studies the condition of the equilibrium of a floating body and submerged body "fluids at hydrostatic equilibrium and the pressure in a fluid, or exerted by a fluid, on an imme ...

sensitivity.

History

In 1887 Edward Weston discovered that metals can have a negative temperature coefficient of resistance, inventing what he called his "Alloy No. 2." It was produced in Germany where it was renamed "

". Five years later, after experimenting with alloys of copper, nickel, and manganese, he developed Manganin. In May 1893, Weston received a patent for the material and its use for resistors. While Manganin represented a significant advance in technology -- the material was a conductive metal with constant resistance over a wide range of working temperatures, Weston did not receive wide recognition at the time.

Properties

Cu86/Mn12/Ni2

Electrical Properties * Temperature coefficient: Mechanical Properties * Modulus of elasticity: 124–159 GPa * Maximum use temperature in air: 300 °C

References

{{reflist

External links

Isabellenhütte - 1889 Manganin
Copper alloys Nickel alloys

History

Properties

Cu86/Mn12/Ni2

See also

References

External links