This presentation introduces the salient physics phenomena associated with
the reaction of solid materials to their being hit with laser intensities
in excess of 10^19 W/cm^2. Most of the interesting interactions happen
within the first several picoseconds of the interaction, and several
thoroughly unexpected results have been observed. This talk reviews
these results, and attempts to put them in perspective in terms of their
possible uses, which range from inertial fusion, to ultra-fast
time-resolved radiography.