Ever wondered if the iconic weapon of the Star Wars universe, the lightsaber, could exist beyond the realm of fiction? Let's delve into the fascinating world of theoretical physics and cutting-edge technology to explore the feasibility of these energy swords.
The Star Wars universe lightsaber is usually associated with a laser or laser beam that is able to burn, cut, or damage an object/target or enemy
Technically, since their invention in 1960, we have had many different kinds of lasers, and these have found a wide variety of uses.
- The one aspect of lightsabers that seems infeasible is the concept of its acting as a solid physical rod or saber that can “hit” or “strike” an opponent
- Plasmas are high-temperature, gaseous discharges consisting of electrons and ions at temperatures of around 5,000 to 10,000 C or higher, and are represented by the gas discharge inside a fluorescent tube, a lightning bolt in the atmosphere, and the solar wind of plasma that causes the northern lights.
A lightsaber is a magnetically confined plasma
Lightsabers are good for cutting through various materials, and we already use plasma torches to cut through dense materials like steel.
- One can confine charged particles (plasma) in a magnetic bottle, but the problem is that the “bottle” leaks at both ends, so the plasma quickly escapes
- Current state-of-the-art physics does make use of a magnetic field to confine plasmas especially for the use of fusion reactors
- The color of the plasma glow is determined by the atomic energy levels in the gas which is ionized
Plasma
The best approach would be a plasma: a hot stream of ionized gas molecules confined by a large magnetic field.
The problem is having the beam just stop in free space
Current understanding of physics does indeed allow us to stop or “freeze” photons within a crystal
- If this could be applied to the “shaft” of the lightsaber, it might well be possible to create a 1 m long beam of light in which radiation stays trapped inside that area
