Why make a light saber if you can harness that kind of energy?
Why cap the "lazer" or whatever you decide makes the beam?
Id just make it a lazer, then you can dice any jedi at 300 meters away!

you could build something like a laser sword that could act similar, actually just cut. The diameter would be really tiny (punctual even) but it may look thick, haven't tried anything similar to see what and if you can see.

-the problem is a portable high power laser. We just don`t have it yet.
-and a transparent material that can change shape a bit just by using electricity (we have that - piezoelectric effect).

i`ll try to present my idea here.


======= ||| \
======= ||| - * ** *** ****
======= ||| /

sorry for the bad schematics ...

=== laser beam
||| material that acts like a magnifying glass to focus the laser
* ** *** etc are areas where the light is focused because of the shape change of the material.

the hard part is making the material change shape really fast.

the saber would only have enough power to burn in the center there the light is focused, then again because it`s just a laser it can`t cut glass and shiny stuff.

----
OPTION II

plasma beam held together by a magnetic field. Right now they are using this technology to test the idea of nuclear fusion.
this requires a lot of power like ... nuclear fusion to work but it should cut anything (it could be as hot as the sun) so without a thermal shield it can`t work.

A "lightsaber" is very well possible, so long as you aren't using photons. A "light emitting saber" could certainly consist of other forms of energetic/subatomic particles which react differently. Using one for example that responded highly to EM fields could then use filed lines to loop outgoing energy from the circumference of the projector (circle) to the (vertex) center of the emitter.

Making a "laser" sword is truly pointless, and is an indiscriminate weapon unless you pulse it on target. Your best bet is a close in plasma induction blade which will cut virtually any material. Moreover, all you need to power it is high temperature conductive materials and one of the recently developed ultra-high-capacity capacitors, rigged to slowly discharge in a sequential parallel circuit.

[edit on 23-12-2008 by Tenzin]

The forcefield idea actually makes more sense than a laser. The whole thing with the lightsaber is that not only can it cut through almost anything, it could deflect other lightsabers and "blaster" bolts. A laser could not do any of these things. So perhaps the gem that is used in a lightsaber is some kind of material that resonates in such a way that it creates a forcefield, and that field can be tuned by using a laser at a certain wavelength. That could work...

I may not do physics at university, but I have to point out something on this issue. Why would you need to confine a beam of plasma to a small (1 metre or so) blade anyway? If you could just miniaturise a plasma torch system capable of making a (relatively concentrated, granted) beam that held out for far enough that would surely be all you need, right? Even if it dissipates quickly, if it shoots out of your device fast enough it would get to the required distance anyway. And, it doesn't really matter how refined it is at the end, it's white hot plasma and will cut through anything you decide to use it on (read, some sort of living (well, not for long....) opponent).

And as for the solidity of a lightsaber, why do you want it to be solid to another? That just allows you to be blocked, and all things considered, you don't want it to be on for very long, since it would burn the wielder unless some highly insulating material is worn while using it, and the power source would run out pretty quickly.

And, as for the range issue, it's only Star Wars that uses such a silly weapons doctrine as to suggest that lightsabers could be the only weapon someone would carry. It would be a far more effective last resort weapon, due to it's highly powerful and deadly (for both user and opponent) nature. Perhaps if we are really suggesting such a high level of technology would be obtained, then combined with some sort of advanced stealth technology, it could be useful for espionage or assassination.

Of course, I don't know why I've given this quite so much thought.

again like it has been said by a few here, a light saber's production lies only in the fact that the power source cannot be replicated in the outlandish si-fi manner. though if you think about it dosent our very own planet not only capture but repell massive amounts of harmful plasma that without the monumental magnetic feilds that cocoon our planet would shurly destroy it think about that one, the other idea is resonence, yes resonence im not going to get into it but if you want to know more about how that could work look up the works of tesla and the haarp project. muhahahahahahaha tesla was the only wizard to ever live....... maybe he was related to merlin....... omg way too much caffiene KILL ME! (please ignore spelling ive given up on myself)

Yeah this is possible, I envision that in the future we may have this type of item but it would be used as a tool not a weapon. You could do a lot of neat things with a lightsabre besides hurt people, warm up a large amount of cold water and go swimming in it, cut firewood effortlessly, demolition work would be fun and easy.

We couldn't do all kinds of things 500 years ago, they were in the realm of fantasy too. One thing we have learned is that there seems to to be almost no limit to technological advancement given the the proper amount of time and resources.

Not plasma.

You find a way to wrap the lazer back upon itself in a loop. It doesn't come to an end or a capped point, but a point at which it loops back.

You can then use the energy that loops back to feed the battery, reducing the overall expenditure of energy.

A plasma welder could be modified to have a 3 foot arc of plasma. It would have a cord because we just don't have light saber batteries yet.

I've been a Star Wars nerd since I can remember lol

I wish you could make them, but honestly lots of cool stuff in Star Wars defies the laws of physics. The Death Star's beam is impossible cause all the lasers would pass right through each other, unless there was something there to collect them.

The hover crafts, to work, the planets would need a large amount of nickel in its minerals, and the hover craft would need negatively charged magnets I believe. You know, the whole repelling thing with magnets and such.

of course it can....


the secret governments and militaries have magic skills... bowstaff skillz... Liger skillz.... forbidden ninja skillz..


LOL