  The Sun's proximity offers us a unique opportunity to study in detail the
physical processes on a star's surface; however, the highly dynamic nature of
the stellar surface -- in particular, energetic eruptions such as flares and
coronal mass ejections -- presents tremendous observational challenges.
Spectroscopy probes the physical state of the solar atmosphere, but
conventional scanning spectrographs and spectrometers are unable to capture the
full evolutionary history of these dynamic events with a sufficiently wide
field of view and high spatial, spectral, and temporal resolution. Resolving
the physics of the dynamic sun requires gathering simultaneous spectra across a
contiguous area over the full duration of these events, a goal now
tantalizingly close to achievable with continued investment in developing
powerful new Integral Field Spectrographs to serve as the foundation of both
future ground- and space-based missions. This technology promises to
revolutionize our ability to study solar flares and CMEs, addressing NASA's
strategic objective to "understand the Sun, solar system, and universe." Since
such events generate electromagnetic radiation and high-energy particles that
disrupt terrestrial electric infrastructure, this investment not only advances
humanity's scientific endeavors but also enhances our space weather forecasting
capability to protect against threats to our technology-reliant civilization.
