Measuring the specific heat of conducting substances in conditions of microsecond heating with a current pulse

A technique for measuring the specific heat of conducting substances (metals, zirconium carbide and nitride, and graphite) in conditions of pulsed heating with a microsecond current pulse at a constant and increasing pressure is considered. The reliability of the detection of a steep increase in specific heat before melting, which is presumably associated with the emergence of Frenkel defects, is shown. An estimate of the errors in the measurements of the specific heat is given.