Part A. The major effort during the past year has been the construction of a suitable vacuum furnace for studying the effects of temperature and pressure on the wettability of metals by glass. A systems was completed that was capable of subjecting test combinations up to temperatures of 1400 degree C at a working pressure of 1 x 10(-5) mm. of Hg. Part B. A compound, identified by X-ray analysis as sodium meta tantalate (na2Ta2O6), was found at the interface between a sodium silicate glass and tantalum metal which had been heated in vacuum to 1000 degree C. thermodynamic calculations, followed by further experimental evidence, were used to determine the chemical reaction between tantalum and sodium silicate which resulted in the formation of Na2Ta3O6. the compound was synthesized by other methods, and its structure investigated.