The Science of the Lightsaber

Smartcowboy writes "Chances are that you have seen a lightsaber at one time or another, whether on the evening news or down at the local cantina. Therefore you know that a lightsaber is an amazing and versatile device that is able to cut through nearly anything in a matter of milliseconds. Have you ever wondered how these remarkable weapons work? Where does the energy come from, and how are they able to contain that energy in a rod-like column of glowing power? In this article, you will have a chance to look inside a lightsaber and discover the source of its incredible characteristics." I was sure the blade was made from the focused hate and disappointment of the last three movies.

The Year Was 2005 ...

[eldavojohn]

Do we really need to do this again [slashdot.org]? I mean, seriously guys, it's not the same URL but it resolves to the same damn page. Would you like an easy +5 Insightful response? Just point out the lightsaber is casting a shadow!

On top of that, this has been erroneously filed under "Technology." Let's just pause and let that sink in.

Now I'll quote the article:

• # A lightsaber is normally about 30 centimeters long, about the size of a large flashlight.
• # At one end is the hand grip, belt ring and on/off switch (a.k.a., the Activation Matrix).
• # At the other end there is the blade arc tip and stabilizing ring.
• # Somewhere on the case (generally near the blade end of the lightsaber) you find one or two adjusting knobs for blade power and blade length.

You are putting that into the technology category? Seriously? I am sorry, normally I roll with the it and just play along when this stuff is under Idle on the frontpage but this is ridiculous. I know I'm just one of many Slashdotters in bitchbitchbitch mode but the next time you come across an article like this put it in your damned April Fools folder and don't revisit it until then!

Next week: The Science of NBC's "Heroes" ... filed under Biotech!

Re:The Year Was 2005 ...

[Aeonite]

Here's a more appropriate lightsaber article to link to, which explores not the physical construction of the lightsaber, but rather it's mythical import.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_156/5005-Lazer-Swords-and-Thundersabers [escapistmagazine.com]

Yes, I wrote it.

It's also not a 3-year-old article.

This is not news.

[ChrisMounce]

Seriously, how does stuff like this get on the front page?

For those who hate to click next

[mpdolan37]

http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/lightsaber.htm/printable [howstuffworks.com]

Re:But does it run Linux?

[zeromorph]

Nah, it's NetBSD, the Jedi ones, I mean. Although the older ones are probably Lisp boxen [xkcd.com].

Re:Welcome to the Internet

[Shakrai]

I don't know how doable phasers are as described in canon. They utilize a completely invented subatomic particle (the nadion) for their effects. The vaporization effect in particular seems far-fetched -- in Trek they explain it away because of the magical properties of the nadion -- in reality you'd need an awful lot of energy to vaporize the human body (imagine taking 100-200 pounds of water from 98 degrees to >212 degrees in under a second) and you wouldn't want to be standing nearby when it happened.

The concept of a directed energy weapon that would be adjustable and which could stun/injure or kill seems doable in the future though.

Re:lightsabers are scarier than guns and table saw

[Anonymous Coward]

Han Solo used one one once to open up a Tan Tan. Luke was training with it before he had any force abilities at all. I don't habeeb it.