How would a light sabre work?

We have all seen it on star wars movies.

But how would a real light sabre work. Lasers, crystals, polarized light, force fields, ????

Michio Kaku writes about them in "Physics of the Impossible." Find it at your local library.

The gist of it is that it is technically feasible just that we havent created a portable energy source powerful enough to run the plasma laser and the limiting field necessary to retain the shape.

But without the "force" a bullet beats a lightsaber.

Here's a clip from G4 where he mentions some "Star Wars" tech.

g4tv.com...

Not sure, but you can't have physical resistance using light, like during Luke Skywalker's duel with Darth Vader, because light radiation isn't dense enough. Maybe through some sort of "magic" you could concentrate an immense amount of energy into a one spot, enough to provide physical resistance.

Originally posted by johnstnpilot
Your not allowed to build a light saber , the originator doest even use it anymore it was first built by exetr and he sold it to viking types and sharon types and thats the end of the line .

Spooky always looses on the saber to alderan because luek and his people have used the saber for liek a billion . The exetr fellow was the only knon race of life outside this known galaxy 3 billion years ago , he is the way back home to the Viking type galaxy he is on the border and when Viking is home SOON the border is closed by exetr forvere . Yay and YEs we can talk to exetr with 4 D math but the ghoulies do suck , they even bother you when someone is using 4 d illegally in your neighbourhood where you reside , HEY GHOULIES GO AWAY ! Just tell em that , stupid guys trying to build illegal tech , sometimes GOd and Lucifer work hand in hand as god is busy he used lucifer to warn YOU not to fool around with the law and white light !

You lost me. I have no idea what you are rambling on about.

I dont think a lightsabe will ever work. Maybe with plasma but not with light. And you would need some serious power to keep the plasma hot enough to cut anything.
They do have plasma wands that work like a mini lightsaber.

I know I saw a video of a kid getting one for christmas...

www.youtube.com...

clearly, the possibility of a lightsaber is true!

Another thing...

What would stop the light at about 1.5 meters? A light beam of that intensity would go on for miles, not end abruptly.

[edit on 25/3/2009 by Saurus]

Easy. It's a plasma generated within a shaped magnetic field. This could be structured by manipulation of the magnetic field, or by a physical structure that could withstand the heat of the plasma extended like a chain of small solarsails into the plasma. So easy, a jedi could do it.

O-315

Originally posted by vcwxvwligen
Not sure, but you can't have physical resistance using light, like during Luke Skywalker's duel with Darth Vader, because light radiation isn't dense enough. Maybe through some sort of "magic" you could concentrate an immense amount of energy into a one spot, enough to provide physical resistance.

Excellent point!

Originally posted by organism315
Easy. It's a plasma generated within a shaped magnetic field. This could be structured by manipulation of the magnetic field, or by a physical structure that could withstand the heat of the plasma extended like a chain of small solarsails into the plasma. So easy, a jedi could do it.

O-315

You make an a very innovative point. Why use laser when plasma is a better solution. And the a magnetic field can control the shape of the plasma.
Still in deul, when sabre strikes sabre, how would they create the resistance of a physical blade.?

the way a "light saber" was envisioned to work when the Star Wars sagas were first created, has nothingn to do with light.

this is how a light saber works.

there is spool of wire in the handle, a force field is generated through the wire, which causes it to extend the wire from the handle.
the force field does the cutting and gives the blade its support.

Can I have a red one?

Please?

Well perhaps not a light saber persay, however there is a way to create a sabre that would cut through ANYTHING like a hot knife through butter. And it's realistic as well, probably within our lifetime.

If we could figure out a way to take a single molecule and stretch it vertically maybe 6 inches, fastened to an electromagnetic ball that would keep in place, this would provide the sharpest thing known to man.

It would slice through Titantium and mountains with ease. The technology behind such a thing lies in Nanotechnology.

And then find a way to pump plasma or something make it a little wider, then voila!

~Keeper

Originally posted by tothetenthpower
Well perhaps not a light saber persay, however there is a way to create a sabre that would cut through ANYTHING like a hot knife through butter. And it's realistic as well, probably within our lifetime.

If we could figure out a way to take a single molecule and stretch it vertically maybe 6 inches, fastened to an electromagnetic ball that would keep in place, this would provide the sharpest thing known to man.

It would slice through Titantium and mountains with ease. The technology behind such a thing lies in Nanotechnology.

And then find a way to pump plasma or something make it a little wider, then voila!

~Keeper

Are you sure?

reply to post by Jibbs


Yes because traditional sabres and swords use the same concept. The lower the amount of molecules on the edges, the sharper the edge is.

When you sharpen a blade what are you doing? You are shaving molecules off the end in order to make it thinner, therefore slicing better.

it's the same concept, if you had only 1 molecule stretched out, it would extremely sharp.

~Keeper

I'm always puzzled as to why lightsabre explanations drift toward lasers. A laser, even the most powerful laser, could never do what the fictional lightsabre does.

Main differentiator? The lightsabre can be used as a shield to repel other lightsabres and blasters. Laser could never do that.

So, the lightsabre would have to be comprised of two primary components: A high-intensity, high-cycling electromagnetic containment system, and; a high-energy plasma furnace, probably drawing its energy straight off of a nuclear fusion cell of some sort.

The electromagnetic field creates the "sabre" containment vessel, which is filled with high-energy plasma at tens of millions of degrees Fahrenheit — much, much hotter than the core of the Sun.

The hard part of designing and manufacturing such a device is micro-miniaturizing these extremely energy-intensive components. I mean, our present-day technology that most closely approximates a lightsabre is about the size of a warehouse and draws enough juice in ten seconds to power a small city for 24 hours.

Try fitting all of that into a housing the size of a flashlight.

"So, Luke, I see you have built your own lightsabre... Most impressive... Could you stop by my place this evening and help me fix my Hadron Collider?"


— Doc Velocity




[edit on 3/29/2009 by Doc Velocity]

reply to post by punkinworks


Thank you. You have provided the original technology of the light sabre. Thank for posting the origins. THis sheds alot of light on things. I have been going about all wrong. Ofcourse a wire extended by a force field!

An extremely innovative idea. Amazing. I like it.

Originally posted by tothetenthpower
reply to post by Jibbs

 

Yes because traditional sabres and swords use the same concept. The lower the amount of molecules on the edges, the sharper the edge is.

When you sharpen a blade what are you doing? You are shaving molecules off the end in order to make it thinner, therefore slicing better.

it's the same concept, if you had only 1 molecule stretched out, it would extremely sharp.

~Keeper

Less molecules makes for a sharper cut because energy is concentrated, but you have to generate the energy first.

A blade is sharp when it's dense. The minimum needed amount of force to control it is also enough to provide lots of momentum. A strand of molecules in a single file would not be strong enough to even withstand air resistance

Originally posted by punkinworks
the way a "light saber" was envisioned to work when the Star Wars sagas were first created, has nothingn to do with light.

this is how a light saber works.

there is spool of wire in the handle, a force field is generated through the wire, which causes it to extend the wire from the handle.
the force field does the cutting and gives the blade its support.

What you have described there closely resembles the 'variable-knife' used by the Kzin race in the Larry Niven "Ringworld" books. I believe that was supposed to use the same principle.

reply to post by royspeed


you mean a kzin vibro blade.

not at all the same the kzin vibro blade had a an actual blade that was vibrated by an ultra-sonic transducer.
The vibration cause it to cut much like an electric carving knife.