The magnifying glass, microscope and telescope enable us to “see” and examine objects too small (or too far) for the naked eye to study. “In my lab, we take these optical developments that essentially magnify objects to the dimension of time,” says Prof. Moti Fridman. “‘Too small’ in time means too short to be measured by to-date electronics. We have no electronic system that can measure pico-secondslong pulse, for example, and reveal its inner structure or dynamics, which means we cannot scheme them.” The novelty of the temporal devices that Prof. Fridman and his group develop, design, fabricate and assemble is on par with the 17th century advent of the microscope. “Like a magnifying glass, our time-lens enhances and expands ultrashort events 1,000 or one million times over. The result is something that can be measured by electronics,” explains Prof. Fridman. His tools, made of ultrafast lasers and highly nonlinear fibers, reveal an untraveled world of effects, previously inaccessible, including the complex temporal schemes of ultrafast phenomena, shocks, polarization, phase, impression, different phenomena that are a combination of time and space—and beyond. Rogue Waves, Solitary Waves and Quantum One example of such ultrafast events is rogue sea waves, also known as monster waves, or killer waves. The same phenomenon occurs in nonlinear optic systems. These waves are seemingly unpredictable and so formidable that the few sailors throughout history to witness them described them as “a wall of water that comes out of nowhere swiftly swallowing the ships at whole.” Those sailors were often suspected of losing their minds or fabricating stories—that is, until January 1st, 1995, when a rogue wave was recorded for the first time. The New Year’s wave was captured by measuring sensors and laser telemeter instruments set up on the Draupner gas platform in the North Sea. “Using our advanced temporal devices, we were the first to discover that these rogue waves have an inner structure. They are A Lens to Magnify Time not merely a peak of a pulse but a specific assembly of several pulses, each having a different polarization. We can predict when such rogue wave may occur, and hopefully, in the future, we will be able to use this knowledge to protect ships and optic devices from their destruction.” Prof. Fridman’s systems can also measure the altogether different solitary waves, or solitons, which are a focal research point in fiber optics applications, mainly for telecommunication purposes. “Using our systems, we can provide quantum tomography and measure quantum phenomena in resolution like never before.” Through his new research project in quantum optics, Prof. Fridman can answer some of the riddles that occupy the scientific community and the telecommunication industry: How do single photons form, interact and disappear? What do their interactions look like, and how do they consolidate into solitons? “We can now provide schemes of these ultrafast solitary waves, their dynamic of polarization and phase,” says Prof. Fridman. “As a bonus, our system also automatically amplifies signals, which means we can measure even ultraweak signals.” The knowledge obtained is fundamental to understanding temporal quantum systems and can revolutionize the telecommunication industry, introducing new capabilities including long-distance transmission, and leading us toward full optical data processing. Waving an Impact Bringing his academic work to the public is a mission for Prof. Fridman, and it drives him to participate in scientific activities with the many guests that visit BIU. “Launching a missile on campus lawns is an effective way to teach a child about Newton’s laws while igniting their curiosity about science at large,” he says. Thus, when approached by BINA’s Fetter Museum of Nanoscience and Art to partner with an audio artist to compose a musical piece in a way that will use and demonstrate a scientific law, he was 18
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