Manganin foil and wire is used in the manufacture of resistors, particularly ammeter shunts, because of its virtually zero temperature coefficient of resistance value[2] and long term stability.

Several Manganin resistors served as the legal standard for the ohm in the United States from 1901 to 1990.

[4] In 1887 Edward Weston discovered that metals can have a negative temperature coefficient of resistance, inventing what he called his "Alloy No.

Manganin wire as we know it was developed by Weston's assistant John Forrest Kelly.

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.