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The Science of the Lightsaber

Posted by samzenpus on from the the-force dept.

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.

10 of 197 comments (clear)

  1. The Year Was 2005 ... by eldavojohn · · Score: 5, Informative
    Do we really need to do this again? 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!

    --
    My work here is dung.
    1. Re:The Year Was 2005 ... by Aeonite · · Score: 4, Informative

      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

      Yes, I wrote it.

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

    2. Re:The Year Was 2005 ... by JavaRob · · Score: 5, Funny

      You would of fixed it if you could of! But, I wouldn't loose any sleep over it. Most people here don't know how it's supposed to be written anyways, and the ones who do could care less.

      [heh; take that]

    3. Re:The Year Was 2005 ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Would you like an easy +5 Insightful response? Just point out the lightsaber is casting a shadow!

      (Stroking goatee ponderously)
      Hmmm, I say, the lightsaber *is* casting a shadow.

    4. Re:The Year Was 2005 ... by rhyder128k · · Score: 4, Funny

      Don't be so possessive.

      --
      Michael Reed, freelance tech writer.
  2. Every-Day uses of the lightsaber by NecroBones · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Well, at least they didn't show any household uses for the lightsaber that I've already covered. :)

    Lightsaber Uses for the Everyday Dark Lord

    --
    I have not lost my mind... it's backed up on disk somewhere!
  3. But does it run Linux? by oodaloop · · Score: 5, Funny

    The Jedi ones, I mean. Everyone knows the red ones run Windows.

    --
    Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
    1. Re:But does it run Linux? by zeromorph · · Score: 5, Informative

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

      --
      "Hannibal's plans never work right. They just work." Amy/A-Team
  4. I have one.... by NiteShaed · · Score: 5, Funny

    and apparently there's a lot of trick photography involved in those movies. First of all, the blade is just plastic segments, and you kind of flick it to get the blade to extend. By the way, it doesn't cut worth a damn. It seems that the "light" part of the lightsaber is just a flashlight bulb embedded in the handle and shining through the tube. Pretty disappointing really.
    Now the sound effects on the other hand are pretty damn cool. Granted, they're a little tinny compared to the movies, but I figure that's just due to the way they mixed the audio in post-prod.

    --
    Some bring out the best in others, some the worst. Some bring out far more.
  5. Why isn't this in Idle? by ShadowRangerRIT · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Silly posts like this seem custom made for Idle, where they can be safely ignored...

    --
    $_ = "wftedskaebjgdpjgidbsmnjgcdwatb"; tr/a-z/oh, turtleneck Phrase Jar!/; print