May the Fourth Be With You… Lightsaber Science: Could We Ever Create Star Wars’ Most Iconic Weapon?

An elegant weapon, for a more civilised age; the lightsaber is the weapon of Jedi Knights and Sith Lords from a galaxy far far away. It would be at the top of every Star Wars fan’s Christmas list, if only they were real.

Alas, despite the huge scientific leaps that have been made since A New Hope hit theatres in 1977, we still haven’t got around to making laser swords a reality. Now, I don’t know about you, but that would’ve been my number one priority.

So, should fangirls and fanboys around the world give up hope of ever owning their own signature blade, or is there a chance that lightsabers could soon be made a reality? The Fan Carpet are diving into some real world science to find out with the help of our friends at AO Life...

THAT'S NOT TRUE, THAT'S IMPROBABLE...
In the Star Wars movies lightsabers are self-contained, adjustable plasma blades powered by ancient crystals. However, in our mundane, Jedi-free reality, a saber would likely need to employ laser technology to create a focused beam of light that could be used to burn through objects.

In short, think of a real life lightsaber as a much bigger, handheld version of those used in laser eye surgery.

While that might sound relatively straightforward on paper, practically speaking, such a device wouldn’t really be a lightsaber – at least, not how you’re imagining it. That’s because light doesn’t just cut out at a certain point. It keeps on travelling until something either absorbs or reflects it. So, unless we find a way to contain light, and in this case manipulate it so it takes the form of a blade, an actual lightsaber would be almost impossible to use effectively.

Making things even more tricky is the fact that a portable laser powerful enough to dismember unruly cantina punters or Sith Lords would require an insane amount of energy. You couldn’t just pick up a couple of Duracell’s and flick the ignition switch. Again, it’s not impossible that we’ll eventually be able to create a compact energy source capable of generating that much power, it just it isn’t going to happen any time soon.

What’s more, even if we could do all of the above, two laser blades wouldn’t actually clash like they do in the movies. They’d just pass right through one another, like two disappointing, though admittedly deadly, beams of torchlight.

Of course, unlike torchlight, you wouldn’t actually be able to see your blade unless you’re doing battle in a smoke filled room, because, well, real life lasers are pretty hard to see with the naked eye. I know, I’m as disappointed as you are.

To be blunt then, while there’s a slim chance that lightsabers could theoretically become a reality at some point in the far flung future, they would still lack most of the things that makes us crave one in the first place: namely the vibrant colours, iconic swooshing noise, and the ability to deflect blaster fire.

Seriously, what’s the point in owning a lightsaber that doesn’t hum and whirr like a sensual washing machine.

I know, it’s a tough one to take, but once you’ve wiped away those tears remember that there’s a new Star Wars movie in cinemas right now. I knew that’d make you feel better.

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