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The Feasibility of Star Wars Tech

Posted by Zonk on from the vvvvvvooomm-shhhhhh dept.

pwnage writes "Forbes Magazine, not usually the the web's premiere source of all things geekish, has posted an interesting summary of Star Wars technology and its scientific feasibility. As a bonus, they also include a great set of Star Flops, including the infamous Jedi Arena Atari 2600 video 'game.'"

3 of 712 comments (clear)

  1. Sounds in outer space by Emperor+Shaddam+IV · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Ships and weapons make sound in a vacuum in the Star Wars/Star Trek universes. Defying the physical laws of this universe.

    Never quite go over this. However, the 1968 movie 2001 space odyssey, got it right!

  2. It's not a bug, it's a feature by Tassach · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You're assuming they want you to read the article. They could care less. They care about ad impressions, and flipping from one page to the next automatically cranks them out faster.

    --
    Why is it that the proponents of "one nation under God" are so eager to get rid of "liberty and justice for all"?
  3. Re:Regarding Lightsabers by Knara · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Setting aside the issues raised by the loose conglomeration of plot elements that is Star Wars, you're missing a few points about the Jedi. The Jedi are an elite order with superhuman powers. They enjoy the endorsement of government during the Old Republic, and conduct themselves more or less as a royal order. They are not the front-line soldiers or mainline military forces. You'll note that those forces have rather elaborate technology in relation to exactly what you mentioned above.

    Since the Jedi have superhuman reflexes (possibly due to premonition skills if Qui-Gon's explanation in Episode 1 is to be accepted), hand-to-hand combat is commonly decided in their favor vs. a small number of armed opponents. However, as will likely be seen in Episode 3, the Jedi fall when systematically hunted down by large forces. When they no longer enjoy backing by the ruling powers, they are reduced essentially to the Star Wars version of ronin (rogue samurai), who are deadly in single combat, and influential in reputation (and in the case of the Jedi, powerful in the supernatural skills they learn), but aren't a formidable military force.

    (as for the Minbari, a similar thing is the case; the Rangers were not front-line troops, but rather couriers, clandestine agents, later diplomatic representatives, etc; the "Warriors" had suitably high-tech weapons)