The invention of ultrafast optical lasers with pulse durations comparable to vibrational periods in solids and motions of molecules undergoing structural changes has provided a look at the dynamics that govern important processes in nature. X-rays on the otherhand, with wavelengths comparable to the distances between atoms, have been the key tool to study the average structure of liquids and solids at atomic resolution. With recent developments of ultrafast x-ray sources the combination of appropriate temporal resolution and spatial resolution is opening new scientific opportunities to directly observe atomic scale dynamics. The Sub-Picosecond Pulse Source at SLAC is just such a source. The science and technology of ultrafast x-ray studies will be discussed in this context and the extension of these studies to opportunities afforded by the LCLS x-ray free electron laser will be presented.