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SUMMARY:Making and Using Ultra-High Power and Ultra-Short Pulse Lasers - P
 rof Roland Smith\, Imperial College
DTSTART:20110126T200000Z
DTEND:20110126T210000Z
UID:TALK29403@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Peter Humphreys
DESCRIPTION:After Theodore Maiman built the first working laser in 1960 it
  was described as a “solution looking for a problem”. Today 50 years a
 fter it’s invention the laser finds uses in an extraordinarily broad ran
 ge of applications ranging from high precision medical imaging and surgery
  to optical communication\, range finding and industrial welding. Lasers a
 lso underpin many scientific instruments\, and in some cases entire discip
 lines in areas such as ultra-fast measurement and the creation of extreme 
 states of matter. In this lecture we will look at the physics that governs
  the operation of lasers\, and how research continues to extend the capabi
 lities of laser systems for cutting edge experiments. Two extremes of lase
 r performance will be explored\, high-power pulsed lasers which are now ab
 le to reach peak powers of 1 Petawatt (10E15 W) and “ultra-fast” laser
  systems which can now access timescales less that 100 Attoseconds (10E-16
  sec). A unifying theme in both these areas is the need to find innovative
  ways to overcome non-linear optical processes that if left to their own d
 evices would destroy a high-power laser. The prize is the ability to produ
 ce and study matter in the laboratory that would otherwise only be found i
 n supernova remnants or the cores of Jovian planets\, or to probe the most
  fundamental processes of electron dynamics that occur in atoms and molecu
 les.\n\nThere will be a wine reception after the talk with the guest speak
 er.\n\nFree for members\, £2 for non-members.
LOCATION:Bateman Auditorium \, Gonville and Caius College
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