Can We Have Star Wars' Lightsabers in Real Life? (Because Science w/ Kyle Hill)

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What are lightsabers made of? What's actually plausible about them, and can we have them in real life? Dive into the science behind lightsabers on Because Science with Kyle Hill.

Because Science every Thursday.

IMAGE: LUCASFILM

[FatGuyDoes]

Tried to build a lightsaber from watching this show, cut off my own we get a Because Science on how to re-attach my hand?

[Artislife]

Back in ma day, we only had 3 states of matter!

[Binyamin.Tsadik]

I always thought that lightsabers were not just technology.  Part of the process to create one is to infuse the force into a crystal (which only a Jedi can do).  This is essentially a combination of technology and magic (the force) into one.

[DocWolph]

A lightsaber is likely a "tamed", and constantly recycled, lightning bolt. It seems the easiest way. I think Star Trek holds the most basic solution. Sometime in the TNG timeline, they stopped using normal electricity and super concentrated it into a plasma, electro-plasma (Go figure). This was likely done to create an innately superconductive material making it easier to move mass amounts of energy around the ship in ways that was hard to disrupt and or easy to repair. But it is essential lightning in a bottle and is still, while safer than normal electricity, EXTREMELY dangerous.

Using superconductivity it is possible to keep the same very considerable charge of electricity in a constant loop, acting more like a chainsaw than a simple burning hot sword. A lightsaber doesn't so much burn through other materials as it strips their electrons causing the material to break down in the path of cut. It is still intensely hot and will cauterize wounds in organic matter or burn heavier materials. Arguably the only normal matter a lightsaber absolutely can not cut through would be a room temperature superconductor. The beam-blade would just pass around it, be stopped by it or absorbed by the superconducting material.

A lightsaber does not have to have the equivalent power of a strategic nuclear weapon (or some such non-sense) and may not be anymore powerful than a TIG or arc welder. It is only a matter of how that power is used.

[cldNclr]

"It appears to be running on some kind of electricity..."

[christiananders]

So if lightsabers are force lightning, then, if he could control the Lightning well enough, could he have lightsaber fingers?

[HammaneggsAirborne]

Khyber crystals are what let the lightsabers work, and are actually part organism that is very powerful in the force. In terms of technology, said crystal could significantly aid the properties of all lightsabers. I would assume that their use of the force keeps the shape of the blade, as well as prevents the heat from dispersing and killing everyone. After all, the lightsaber battle on Mustafar was around lava, so Obi-Wan and Anakin used the force to protect themselves from the heat.

[Anon]

Funny thing is, even though Gundam started out just ripping off the idea of lightsabers from star wars, they actually came up with the explanation of them being weaponized tokamak reactors a lot earlier. I think it was part of the background info going right back to the first series.

[hxcfairy]

I love the new lightsaber design cause the "blade" looks a lot rougher compared to the cleaner look the originals had.

[Morganstudios]

Ahahhaa, that Wilhelm scream at 0:44 =D

[loringwhite]

Actually, the canon is often conflicted about what a lightsaber is. The Rakatan Forcesaber, the original lightsaber, was said to essentially be a frozen laser beam. The closest thing to this would be the recent discovery of solidifying light, which has further credence, since sometime in the mid-future or so, they'll be able to make crystals out of it, and if you add a bit of a kickstart, it could possibly make a blade of solid light, and as with a cutting (or otherwise destructive laser) it'll burn the poor sucker on the other end

[diegomcminn]

Theoretically wouldn't surrounding the arc of plasma in an electromagnetic field correct the risk of unstable reactions and also explain the ability of lightsabers to clash against each other

[LoungeActVideos]

Because Science: Why Kyle Hill is so purdy?!

[DemonixGamer]

Even as a kid, I always knew that lightsabers weren't really lasers. I used to call them, and I quote, "Electricity Swords." Not exactly but I wasn't far off. It's practically a sword with a beam composed of lightning. Lasers don't really make sound unless the machinery that fires it (i.e. high power hair removal lasers) make sound because of how hard it's working to generate the beam.

[lonejedi]

The science is strong with this one. (hermit Yoda laugh)

[HarryBauerGeekORiffic]

Danger, schmanger. Everyone needs a little lightsaber. And I do mean, literally, a little lightsaber.

[getjeffrey]

Oh please!  Everyone knows you can get saber crystals from a Tatooine dealer on Alibaba. Duh!

[darkmuffin]

Personal theory on why the Kyber crystal is so important. Kyber crystals are usually glowing with light meaning they some out amplify light and/or withhold light like a battery, by over charging the Kyber Crystal dense light is then exploded out of the crystal but quickly focused in the magnetic chamber it sits in. Then because the beam has tinny particles  attached to the light it makes it easier for the beam to be controlled. when the light Saber is turned off the energy and particles are then re attached to the crystal through the magnetic field. Thoughts?

[raptorjesus]

I remember seeing a video where a guy designed a lightsaber that was super heated air propelled outward by a fan onto a bar of ceramic that had a powerful magnet inside. The biggest issue with this however is that we don't have batteries that can contain that sort of energy and I doubt a wall socket can output enough (both for the magnets and super heating the gas/air)

[corson]

Can we have little light sabers that toast bread when its cut like hitchikers guide to the galaxy