The increase in the concentration of lattice defects during deformation of copper is shown to have a power law dependence on strain, i.e., &Dgr;&rgr;=c&Dgr;&egr;n, where &Dgr;&rgr; is the change in electrical resistivity at 78°K following an elongation strain increment &Dgr;&egr;, andcandnare constants. It is further shown that the initial internal condition of the metal affects the subsequent defect deformation in the metal. Finally it is shown that following room temperature anneal the production of defects is enhanced.