Real Lightsaber!

[Deleted]

Found this site whilst looking at cute and funny catpictures http://www.reallightsaber.net/ it's nerdporn if anything .
But do you think it's possible to make a real Lightsaber like the one in the movies with todays technology? Or even with tomorrows tech? And what would you need to make one?

1 Teaspoon of Light
1 ounce of singularity
1 PVC Pipe
3 rolls of Duct tape ?

[Laize]

Found this site whilst looking at cute and funny catpictures http://www.reallightsaber.net/ it's nerdporn if anything .
But do you think it's possible to make a real Lightsaber like the one in the movies with todays technology? Or even with tomorrows tech? And what would you need to make one?

1 Teaspoon of Light
1 ounce of singularity
1 PVC Pipe
3 rolls of Duct tape ?

Generating a beam of light that can cut through any known material isn't a challenge.

Generating a beam of light that only extends about 4 feet and then stops IS a challenge.

Generating a beam of light that only extends about 4 feet and then stops and ALSO can stop OTHER beams of light from crossing through it? Well... now you're just getting crazy. Also why would you want your laser beam of death to be stoppable?

[Kalyyn]

First of all, I think people take the term "Light" saber too literally. It doesn't have to be a laser. It could be concentrated plasma contained in a magnetic field. (if that sounded stupid, know that I am not a physicist so it probably was)

Anyway, of course it's possible. But two questions have to be answered first: what do we need to make it and what are the practical applications?

If anything, vibroblades would probably be more useful for your average soldier. They are basically electrified swords.

[Waylander]

Limited blade length and energy supply are serious challenges. I think it is not possible.

[haxartus]

First of all, I think people take the term "Light" saber too literally. It doesn't have to be a laser. It could be concentrated plasma contained in a magnetic field. (if that sounded stupid, know that I am not a physicist so it probably was)

Anyway, of course it's possible. But two questions have to be answered first: what do we need to make it and what are the practical applications?

If anything, vibroblades would probably be more useful for your average soldier. They are basically electrified swords.

It's not stupid. We need a really, really, really powerful and small energy source. As for practical applications... Probably none.

[Deleted]

Generating a beam of light that only extends about 4 feet and then stops and ALSO can stop OTHER beams of light from crossing through it? Well... now you're just getting crazy.

A singularity could make the beam curve around itself at desired lenght,Also a "small" forcefield should be able to repel another forcefield making the light appear to behave solid.

Also why would you want your laser beam of death to be stoppable?

Thats what you have Death stars for xD

[Karrotlord]

A real lightsaber would use plasma. Plasma can be constrained by a magnetic field and said field would also repel the fields of other sabers. A ceramic core would house the field generator. Creating plasma does't take much space and so could easily fit into handheld device. The only real issue is a power source. In the not too distant future it would be possible though not like in the movies.

[halmotors]

Technically, a lightsaber is an electrical arc. The electricity shoots out from the center of the emitter, and then loops back to the outer ring of the emitter. It's just of such high intensity that it appears to be a solid beam and can cut through things.

That being said, I'm going to go cry in a corner in the knowledge that I'm an enormous nerd for knowing that.

[Deleted]

fapfapfapfapfap, sorry you were saying?

Mod Warning: Post more constructively.

[Fuzzzie]

Certainly not with today's technology. Who knows in the future. I don't know if it would be practical to have a weapon like that held in your hand. It makes for good cinema, but would be incredibly dangerous to use.

[Ihsatakar]

Without the force to see a few seconds in advance to block range attacks, it's useless. This is the age of OP range weapons.

[halmotors]

I don't know if it would be practical to have a weapon like that held in your hand. It makes for good cinema, but would be incredibly dangerous to use.

Biggest danger is that the blade would have no weight or momentum. It would be insanely difficult to wield.

[StationaryHawk]

Generating a beam of light that can cut through any known material isn't a challenge.

Generating a beam of light that only extends about 4 feet and then stops IS a challenge.

Generating a beam of light that only extends about 4 feet and then stops and ALSO can stop OTHER beams of light from crossing through it? Well... now you're just getting crazy. Also why would you want your laser beam of death to be stoppable?

This seems to summarize it pretty much. It's definitely not possible to make a lightsaber with today's technology. As to whether or not it's possible with tomorrow's technology, no one could really say. We could make some amazing physics breakthrough tomorrow that completely changes the way we view everything.

[Skelington]

Not with today's technology. And light itself would be impractical, and as others have said, it would have to be some sort of plasma. We would need a way to stop the light at a distance, else it would just continue forever.

Weren't they made from like, some sort of magic cave crystal in the SW universe? We just need to find one of those.

[Fuzzzie]

Biggest danger is that the blade would have no weight or momentum. It would be insanely difficult to wield.

I was thinking the heat that it would put off would probably cook you, but if you got that far then yeah.. maybe.

[Kalyyn]

Biggest danger is that the blade would have no weight or momentum. It would be insanely difficult to wield.

You'd be more likely to cut yourself in half than anyone else.

[Ihsatakar]

Actually, I just thought of a practical application. A mobile blade for firefighters and whatnot allowing them to cut through anything easily.

[Collegeguy]

Yes possible. Just not all that practical. Energy source it would be the biggest problem, so using a handgun would be ten times more effective as a weapon.

[anveena]

Not with today's technology but it could be possible in the future. Seeing where we've come in just the past 150 years it wouldn't surprise me at all if we have them some day.

[Laize]

A singularity could make the beam curve around itself at desired lenght,Also a "small" forcefield should be able to repel another forcefield making the light appear to behave solid.

Thing about singularities, at least the ones you're talking about (aka: black holes), is that they either evaporate or are so massive that they'll crush whatever it is that they're attached to.

The only feasibly usable black hole is a black hole with a Schwarzschild Radius of, what... .5 millimeters in order to be usable? A black hole with that size radius would have a mass of about 3.4*10^23 kg. About the same mass as the planet Mercury.

It's safe to say that whatever technology might lead to real world lightsabers, black holes will not be the key.