Accurate low-order structure factors for copper metal have been
measured by quantitative convergent beam electron diffraction (QCBED).
The standard deviation of the measured structure factors is equal to or
smaller than the most accurate measurement by any other method,
including X-ray single crystal Pendellösung, Bragg γ-ray
diffraction, and high-energy electron diffraction. The electron
structure factor for the (440) reflection was used to determine the
Debye-Waller (DW) factor. The local heating of the specimen by the
electron beam is determined to be 5 K under the current illumination
conditions. The low-order structure factors for copper measured by
different methods are compared and discussed. The new data set is used
to test band theory and to obtain a charge density map. The charge
deformation map shows a charge surplus between the atoms and agrees
fairly well with the simple model of copper 2+ ions at the atomic sites
in a sea of free uniformly distributed electrons.