Clearly, the lightsabre is not solely a laser based weapon, but relies instead on the confinement of a plasma by a shaped magnetic field. When the light sabre is fired up, a shaped magnetic field is projected from its end and a small amount of plasma (charged particles such as hydrogen nuclei, i.e. protons) is jettisoned into the containment field. A pulsed laser is then used to heat the plasma until it glows white hot and then to maintain the temperature by periodic pulses. When the light sabre is run down, the pulsed laser switches off, the magnetic field switches off, and the plasma dissipates in the air.

The technology this weapon relies on is the ability to shape a magnetic containment field into a beam shape, a powerful pulsed laser that fits in a light sabre handle, magnetized fuel cartridges of compressed plasma and a power source to power all this, that also fits in the handle. 117 patents have been registered to cover this work.

A newer verson of the weapon is currently under development. This does not rely on stored plasma, but can run on standard hydrogen. The pulsed laser is used to super heat a "packet" of hydrogen in a vacuum chamber in the handle - this strips all the electrons off the hydrogen nuclei forming a super hot plasma, which is then jettisoned from the handle into the magnetic containment field.

This approach reduces the power requirements of the weapon, since there is no longer a need to maintain a magnetic field within the fuel cartridges. This also reduces the complexity of refuelling the weapon, which no longer needs to be refuelled directly, but can rely on removable unpowered (inert) fuel cartridges. This also allows spares to be carried.

Another area of improvement considered, is the ability to retrieve the plasma back into the weapon when it is run down. This could further lengthen the life of the fuel cartridges. The problem has been the storage of this plasma which has caused significant overheating issues that we have not been able to overcome. This also puts extra strain on the internal power unit that would need to maintain a magnetic containment field to hold the plasma, as the current version does in the fuel cartridges, thus offsetting the saving on moving to inert fuel cartridges. We have therefore discontinued this approach, for now. If we can overcome the initial heating issues, we may attempt to rapidly cool the plasma back into a gas and restore it in the fuel cartridges, however a solution to this is some way off.

For further information please see our commercial in Janes Defence Weekly.

Darius Collins
Sabre Weapons Systems

It wont be any laser beam at all. Laser light travels indefinately, and the only way to prevent that is to have something on the other end of the emitting point stopping it or reflecting it.

It would consist of a plasma charge, several times the temperature of the surface of the sun. Constrained by a magnetic field operating at a frequency and power level that keeps the plasma charge consistant along the intended containment field length.

So the power requirement not only has to produce the plasma charge, but also the containment field. Not easy considering it can be done but requires a warehouse sized lab and power that would dim all the lights in a city the size of LA.

Plasma sabre is the correct technical name for it. Light sabre is only GL's Hollywood name for it.

Plasma is too labor intensive, go with a more EMF reactive particle and then you have your light saber.

p.s. there is already another thread about this exact same subject.

[edit on 23-12-2008 by Tenzin]

Originally posted by Jaypeth
The beauty of humanity is the ability to manifest its imaginations thru clever creations.... what ever we can imagine we can create.... it just takes time

agree exactly amazing and true statement
we have the power to create anything we imagine thru time
the possibilities we have are endless

I was going to agree that there was no way to contain it, but then i read that long post and I can't beilive i didn't think of a magnetic field. i feel so stupid.

[edit on 9-5-2009 by netrichie]

Originally posted by Amur_Tiger
I think some are taking the "light" part of lightsabre too litterally, with light it would be vergin on the impossible with the power problem out of the way, with it, you're hooped. Using plasma though would be vaguely within the range of possability.

That is my thoughts also. A magnetic containment field would hold the plasma in place and still be able to make contact.

nope, def not possable. because how would they get the light to travel to a certin length then stop

I am a physicist who has put in some thought to this problem (I have a young son who keeps me on my toes) and I think that it could be done. The basic idea is to create a number of slighly out of phase, slightly different wavelengths, and slightly different starting points in the handle, light beams that would essentially destructively interfere at whatever distance you decided was a reasonable length for your sabre. No question that it would be a large and complex sesign process, and one certainly could question why would you want to do it (although there would be some very interesting other more practical uses for a very powerful energy beam with a well defined range), but I do think it could be done.

hay i've had an idea for about 3 years now i am 15 i have copyrighted my idea. so now i will tell you.

this light saber plan has a hiccup one it will be a plasma saber
the power sorce will be a fusion reactor (size of a credit card) contained in a eletro-magnetic bubble(the u.s. military has already built ) the power will be distributed by tesla's life work. there will be 2 generator's: a (hot) plasma generator and a eletro-magnetic bubble generator. and this will create a 1 bladed plasma saber a 2 bladed plasma saber will share the same power gen. mentioned above and have 2 set's of the other 2 gen. listed above any Q's

the way to change the length of the blade? you simply have to tone it down with the on-off button (no really the 0-1 button is a toggle switch that will make the blade longer or shorter. ok??

and you would be able to do every thing thay do in star wars




[edit on 21-10-2009 by leedad007]

Ok, how about this:

Shape and Cutting Action;
The shape of lightsaber is maintained by a series of virtual magnetic fields along the 'blade' as so:

||==|| <<< <<< <<< <<<
||==|| v o ^ v o ^ v o ^ v o ^ .... etc
||==|| >>> >>> >>> >>>

where the <(left), v(down), >(right), and ^(up) are the directions of the magnetic field, and 'o' is the centre point of each of the virtual magnetic fields in the series.

Since the ^ and v directions of the field cancel out, the direction of the field would go completely around the 'edge' of the 'blade'.

The material that passes along the edge of the field that would provide the intense burning contact would be the fragments of a crystal (possibly the fabled crystal core of the lightsaber).

These picoscopic fragments due to their negligible mass would quickly move along the field, and provide a fine cutting edge to the field which could slice through basically anything (think of nanoparticles displacing real particles at intense speeds).

Heating and Melting;
The friction alone in this action would cause the intense heat required to melt most objects, but since the particles are mostly kinetic and not thermal, perhaps a small heater at the hilt would give thermal energy to the particles upon each lap of the cycle (the magnetic field strength would have to be increased to overcome the increased speed of the particles in order to maintain a consistently small orbital radius.)

Glow;
Ideally the magnetic field, along with giving motion to the crystal particles/fragments, would induce a small current in the crystal fragments which depending on the properties of the crystals would cause them to glow. Those particles at larger radii would have smaller currents induced and less of a glow, and those with smaller radii would have larger induced currents and a piercing glow. This idea is consistent with the fine but slightly hazy edge of the lightsaber whilst having a brilliant white centre.

The image drawn above would give only a 2d lightsaber (since the parts facing to and away from the page have no field on them), but as long the magnetic field is projected in the same way that a solenoid ('coil') is, then you would get a full-fledged lightsaber.

The only problem:
Virtual magnetic fields do exist, but they can't be setup from the same source (i.e. the hilt), they need to be formed from many different angles (maybe different angular variations FROM the hilt?).
Also, how the hell are you supposed to project a solenoid? In order to produce a field in the first place you must have a current along a wire.
What Im proposing is a means to project a current along a coil. That's basically a very very complex and narrow electric field.

I dont think this is what the Force had in mind when it comes to building a lightsaber. Obi-wan would be rolling in his grave right now if he hadn't been in those damn prequels.






[edit on 7-1-2010 by tetris11]

[edit on 7-1-2010 by tetris11]