Point defects in metals: What could be done by thermophysicists

Despite significant progress in studies of point defects in metals, no unambiguous conclusion has been drawn about their equilibrium concentrations. The objectives of this study are as follows: to recall recent theoretical and experimental results on equilibrium concentrations of point defects in metals; to report on further observations of the relaxation in specific heat caused by the vacancy equilibration; to present calculations concerning the recently proposed determination of the vacancy-related enthalpy; to summarise the present knowledge on equilibrium point defects in metals and to propose what could be done by thermophysicists to solve the problem.