Overview of Ultrafast Science
As its name indicates, CUOS gathers together scientists who
research the ultimate in science & technology related to ultrafast
lasers. Ultrafast science is ultra-short, ultra-precise,
ultra-broad, and ultra-intense.
Description of CUOS Activities
Activities at CUOS range from basic scientific research to
technological applications that are developed through industrial
collaborations. As part of the University of Michigan and the National
Science Foundation, CUOS integrates education with its ground-breaking research
efforts, from K-12 outreach through undergraduate and graduate programs.
Why Optics & Lasers to Study Ultrafast Science?
Since the 1960s, lasers have evolved into formidable
interdisciplinary tools. Lasers that produce ultrashort pulses of light
are a significant part of that evolution. The ultimate duration of these
pulses is limited only by the period of a single optical wave vibration, which
is about 3 femtoseconds (for near-infrared light). These ultrashort bursts
can be used to initiate and subsequently to probe physical processes with
razor-sharp timing and accuracy. Just as Doc Edgerton was able to
investigate the intricacies of a golfer's swing by exploiting microsecond-long
strobe light pulses, scientists can now implement a similar technique to
investigate phenomena at an atomic level over a million times faster through the
use of laser pulses.