We present and discuss the results of a Monte-Carlo simulation of the
phase transition in pure compact U(1) lattice gauge theory with Wilson
action on a hypercubic lattice with periodic boundary conditions. The
statistics are large enough to make a thorough analysis of the size d
ependence of the gap. In particular we find a non-zero latent heat in
the infinite volume limit. We also find that the critical exponents nu
and alpha are consistent with the hyperscaling relation but confirm t
hat the critical behavior is different from a conventional first-order
transition.