In the sci-fi terms that define what a lightsaber is constructed of, it wouldn't work. But even George Lucas himself admitted that he was simply creating fiction and didn't know anything about how it would work. He just called it a lightsaber because...well...it emits light. When you go home and say "turn on the light, would ya?" are you referring to a nonstop beam of light? No, you're visually describing an incandescent bulb operated by electricity, which of course emits light. Same thing applies to a lightsaber - it emits light, but that doesn't mean it is made of light. When little Anakin told Qui Gon that he saw his laser sword, are you going to accept that as fact? Anakin was a kid when he said that, and had no knowledge of how a lightsaber was constructed, nor physics for that matter. You're gonna go off the word of a KID?

If you want to build a lightsaber, you have no choice but to go with existing technology, and if it doesn't exist, well then - invent it. A plasma saber can be called a lightsaber because it would emit light. Plasma is possible here people. It occurs naturally everyday. Physicists always yammer about how you can't generate enough power to inject a plasma into a magnetic field, which bugs me because they're always talking about plasma and magnetic fields as if one has absolutely nothing to do with the other - like they should be regarded as two separate and unlinked entities. Let's talk electricity. A flow of charge generates an electromagnetic field, and vice-versa an EM field will generate a flow of charge. Now let's talk about conductivity. Your best conductors are silver and copper. These are good conductors. Some materials oppose a flow of charge - these are known as nonconductors. But, as fate would have it, nonconductors will conduct just fine if they become ionized. For example, a simple capacitor utilizes this concept. A charge builds up one one end of the capacitor, seeking to dump to the other end to complete its circuit. To accomplish this task, a nonconductor is sandwiched in between. And that's when something amazing happens. When enough charge builds up, the nonconductor becomes ionized and the capacitor is able to make its charge dump. When this occurs, the nonconductive material returns to its nonconductive state and the process starts all over again.

Of course, you're thinking, how does this answer my question? We live on a giant capacitor. The clouds in the sky will gradually build up a static charge. And naturally, when enough charge builds up, you get lightning. Air is a nonconductive material until it becomes ionized. And when a material becomes ionized, this means that each atom has enough energy to excite its electrons to another level until one gets bumped off. What results is a flow of charge, a flow of electrons, charge in motion - a current, pushed by a massive voltage. This of course leads me right into plasma. What IS plasma? Plasma is simply an ionized gas. It doesn't matter what type of gas it is, as long as it IS a gas. Air is a gas, and when it becomes ionized, it is converted to plasma - this is what we call lightning. And, of course, I'll say it again - any charge in motion generates an EM field, and therefore plasmas generate their own EM fields. This is all I will say for now - that lightning (electron arcing) is the simplest way to create a plasma saber. Of course, lightning zigzags, because it follows a nonlinear path of the least resistive molecules in the air. If you use a laser in tandem to heat the molecules, this will provide a linear path of least resistance. And PLEASE remember that like polarities will always repel. If you keep it simple, simple solutions will always present themselves.

This is all I will write, for if I give any more information, it simply would be no fun for you. But if you understood what I wrote and what it implies, I'm sure you can figure out the rest.

[edit on 26/2/2009 by SilverTiger]

My my, it's been a while on this one...

Yes, it is very possible. There is technology out there that can travel at speeds faster than light and defy gravity.

Creating a lightsaber would be child's-play at that level of technology.

I just thought of this but how about directing arc plasma through alpha particles by putting a radioactive material emitting alpha particles in a glass chamber with a very small hole on one side so that the charged particles have a way to escape , then direct and amplify the length and power with a coil and a frequency modulator.

mabye fill the glass chamber with negative or positive ions.


it could even be like a plasma ball lamp, on the center node put the radioactive material ontop. then charge it with ions, put a primary and secondary coil around the sphere. get a electromagnetic field to run counter clockwise and i think you would get some "pretty effects"


disclaimer

dont blame me for giving you cancer.....

if alpha particles dont work, mabye beta would have a interesting reaction.



[edit on 22-7-2009 by judgedrewdy]

Now, I don't think George L was first with the idea of a light sabre, but...I still see him as a father of the fictionary invention. Wouldn't it be extremly cool if he was here giving his thought?

I do believe a LIGHT sabre will be possible in time. But that might not be a laser sword. I am also a old StarWars freak and I have dreamed and thinking about this for a long long time... ( I don't live far far away though ).
I am not so sure George would say it is laser though, I bet he would say it is a beam of light. And what is that? Well could be quite alot of things really. a few here have mentions plasma...which is one of the alternatives.
We also have different kinds of lasers if I remember correctly.

And who knows, maybe LHC might come with one part of the solution for this.

But to sum it all, yes I think that in one way or another we might figure out how to make one. But I don't think it will exactlly like a "Jedi" weapon though.

I would love to have one......to start up my barbecue,