[jveritas]

I do not know. It seems that you know more about this subject than I do. What do you think about the Graphite Coated with Tantalum?

[HangnJudge]

Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists have developed a tantalum carbide-graphite composite material that is one of the hardest materials ever synthesized. Perhaps it was a materials application...

Tantalum is occasionally use is very temperature environments
Light bulbs used to use tantalum filaments before tungsten became
generally used

[HangnJudge]

Tantalum has been studied as an alternate target for
proton beam breeding of neutrons