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I see them wield the lightsaber on Star Wars and wonder to myself.....

What would I do with a real one if I had it?

I would be careful as hell!  I wouldn't want to lose an arm or my head!  Imagine how many of us messed around with nunchaku and hit ourselves in the back of the head by accident.  OUCH!!  I know I did.  It hurt like a sonofab***h.
I wouldn't want to make that same mistake with a lightsaber!. No sir.

Yes.....I do imagine myself taking it out and chopping things to holy hell with it.  Especially hard or metal objects.  I can venture to say that I would cut nearly every substance I could find.  That includes sneaking into a junkyard and slicing an entire car in half.  OH YEAH!!  That would be fun!

Not just hard slashes either...I would put it to an object very slowly and watch the cutting process.
I can imagine being drunk with friends and seeing who could put it the closest to their skin before pulling away!  (No...I really wouldn't participate in that kind of thing...but I would hand over the saber and take bets on who would win!)  
Hehe!

I think I'd prefer a blue one.  What color would you go for?

If any of you remember my critter destruction post  then you'd know that I'd definitely be up to no good.
All insects and other creatures too slow to get away from me beware.
I'd touch the tip of it to them to show them real pain.
They thought the magnifying glass was bad!!
HOHO!

I think that if I had a real one...I would mount on the wall and show it off.
I'm sure I'd get tons of offers to sell it (assuming it's the only one in existence).
I could sell it for millions!  If it were constantly shown off...the powers that be would eventually hear about it and want it.  Maybe even try to take it from me.

Would you sell it?  If so, for how much?  What would be your minimum asking price?

What would you do if you had a REAL lightsaber?



Post Edited (05-15-05 02:00)

... I would accidentally destroy my left hand (and a clothe) while trying to clean the "blade".

... it would become my favourite tool to cook meat. Fzzwww... fzwwww... you asked for an overcooked beef steak, didn't you?

I want a green lightsaber, like Luke's from Return of the Jedi. I'd use it for self defense. If some guy was trying to mug me, I'd slice his balls off or slice off the top of his head. I wouldn't get in trouble because it was self defense.

-the first rule of fat club-

I'd like a red and white stripped one like a candy-cane

Call me a purist, but i'd like the blue white blade of Luke's first film sabre.
Oh, yeah. Reminds me of Aroganie's Star wars bit in Mad Magazine.
Lightsabres make good :
Bugzappers.
Bread slicers.
Lights for finding keys in a dark room.
 And, yes, i'd do the car sliceing trick too. Impress the ladies!

Impress the ladies!

There's a "Schwartz" joke in here I'm avoiding...

I would want a pink one so it looks like a huge, light beam dork.  I would take it with me to bars, in any states except California and New York, and light the ladies cigarettes for them.  Then I'd be all "hey lovely lady, like to see something a little more bulky?" and then the games would begin.

I might even pick a bar fight just so I could hold it up to some loser's crotch and turn it on....hehe.

I don't think there would be any way I would sell it.  I would, however, try to take it apart and see how it worked so I could make more.  I would then sell the copies  but they would only work for about a week and then fail.....SUCKERS!!

The one thing that always bothered me about the light saber---when anyone handles one, it appears as though the shaft of light, or blade, has mass.  I mean, look at Anakin and Obi-Wan when they spin theirs like a baton.  Would it be possible for light to have mass??

Anyway, it would totally rock to have one.  Think I'll get on that right now.

if you ever put mass produced lightsabers out on the market, i can imagine that darwin's theory of evolution would definitely fit here: the unfit genes would eliminate themselves.  that said, i'd be the first to lop an arm or two off [yes, i wouldn't have learnt my lesson the first time, i'd still go back for more!]

i'd probably want a purple one like sammy jackson, that thing screamed 'bad mother' whilst he was whipping it around.

hehe, that would be so cool!

Mine would be a "Mood" saber. Remember those mood rings? If I am angry it would be red if I am happy..pink. And so on...

I took this explanation from Jediarchives.com

"This is how a lightsaber works:
The power travels from the power cells, through a positively charged energy lens at the center of the handle. That beam arcs back to a negatively charged high energy flux aperture. And a superconductor transfers the power back from the flux aperture to the power cell, this way the saber only uses power when its blade cuts through something. Only then it radiates heat too.
The power cells from a lightsaber can last up to 1000 years

Inside the handle, the power goes from the power cells through an energy gate, into the primary crystal (the biggest). The laserbeam created there is focused in the focusing crystal. Beyond that are the cycling field energizers and the energy modulation circuits, that create the final blade. The end of the handle is a magnetic stabilizing ring.

Some Jedi are known to put more crystals in their sabers. They can alter the distance between two crystals inside and thus change the length of the blade.
In rare cases Jedi make even more radical changes in their design. The Sith Lord Exar Kun was probably the first person to build himself a double bladed lightsaber. Later his example was followed by Darth Maul. In the ranks of the Jedi Order this kind of saber was only built for educational and training purposes.


Sith lightsabers:
Red crystals are actually not that suitable for the use in lightsabers. They are less stable than their blue and green counterparts used by the Jedi. However, red crystals glow in harmonic vibration when energized by the Dark Side of the Force. When energized in this way, the crystals can produce a stronger blade that has the rare potential to "break the blade" of Jedi lightsabers. They overload the energy matrix, immediately burning out the saber of the opponent.
This rarely happens, but is a frightening possibility in combat."

Cool huh?

A smart warrior always has a backup weapon if his primary one fails or is destroyed.

I always wondered why the Jedi didn't have a backup lightdagger.
They could be like Steven Segal & Tommy Lee Jones in 'Under Siege".

I think that such a fight between a Sith Lord & a Jedi would actually be pretty cool to watch!

It would also be funny though to see a Jedi deflecting blaster bolts with a lightdagger!
Or would it be called a lightknife or lightstiletto?

What do you think?



Post Edited (10-31-03 00:42)

The Sith Lord Exar Kun was probably the first person to build himself a double bladed lightsaber

What little I've read of the subject, this is an amazingly cool looking but very bad fighting design


For the most part that, I'm always sorta amused when people go through the trouble of working out and explaining how futuristic, alien technology works



Post Edited (10-31-03 11:40)

I would probably have cut myself in half by now.

>Lights for finding keys in a dark room.

Funny, you mention this. When I played the demo for Jedi Knight, I mostly used the lightsabre for light in areas that didn't need to completely lit up. Saved on the lamp batteries. :)

>I always wondered why the Jedi didn't have a backup lightdagger.

If I remember correctly, one of the Star Wars novels said that the blade was adjustable so that it could be used as a knife.

I'm curious, have you seen the high-quality lightsabre reproductions that one company is selling? The hilt is an exact reproduction of the ones in the movies (I think they have a couple styles available), plus it has a removable blade that lights up in your choice of colors. The electronics in the lightsabre are also linked to an external sound controller, so that as you swing it around, it makes authentic lightsabre noises.

Eek don't go from that site, its expensive and not even authentic.  Use masterreplicas.com for your lightsabers. :) They offer non-functional hilts, and functional replicas with power up, power down, motion censors, etc.

I bet my house would have burned holes all over it from when I dropped mine.  Like big cigarette burns
-Ed

It would be fun driving down the highway, sticking it out the window, and cutting a few miles of those big concrete retaining barriers in half.  I can just imagine the poor highway department guys who came the next morning to fix it:  "What the f**k!?!"

I'd like a purple one.  Deep violet.  I'd probably sell it after I got bored with it.  Or trade it for a Lamborghini Diablo.  Of course then I'd find out it wasn't worth a damned thing, that's the way it usually goes.

I'd double-dog dare my worst enemy to look directly into my "flashlight" when I turned it on.  If he didn't go for it, I'd cluck like a chicken until he did.  

And who digs up these ancient threads?

Hmm, what color?
Black light anyone?
Nah, that's not cool enough. I wan't a clear blade so I wouldn't be certain if I turned it off or not.
As for wha t I'd do with it. Probably have a few friends chunk baseballs at me and "try" to cut them in half (the balls, not my friends [err, the baseballs, not my friend's balls])

Ooooo, ultraviolet blade! You want to talk about dangerous, try a lightsaber that never looks like it's on. It's laying on the edge of the coffee table, you walk by, and cut your legs off at the knees.

Funny, my first thought about what to do with a real lightsaber was also to cut a car in half. Wonder how many people would do the same? Might be useful for auto wrecking, or building demolition. Come to think of it, a lightsaber has a lot more potential as tool than as a weapon. Construction, metal fabricating, sculpture - you could do a lot. Torches, plasma cutters, even saws would be obsolete. Makes you wonder why only Jedi seem to want them in the movies.

There is also great potential for crime. Slice a hole in the back wall of a store or a bank, and there you are. Of course it doesn't have the crime potential of, say, a transporter. If I had one of those, people would soon be wondering how money, gold and jewels could just disappear from locked vaults.

Makes you wonder why only Jedi seem to want them in the movies.

My understanding was that part of a lightsaber's power, or at least the ability to control the level/intensity, was driven from the Force in the wielder

I agree on that. A lightsaber must be a very difficult weapon to master, given its destructive potential. If you remember, when Han Solo picks it at the beginning of "The Empire Strikes Back" to gut his *ahem* horse, he is extremely careful with it. No wonder most characters prefer to stick with laser guns, they are much easier to handle.

BTW, another point that seems to confirm this is that the above mentioned scene is the only one in the whole Star Wars series, where a lightsaber is manipulated by a non-jedi character. Unless you count Siths, of course.

Ah, but have you seen this non-jedi manipulate a sabre...

    Some funny stuff here (http://www.screamingpickle.com/members/StarWarsKid/video_nolinking/Star_Wars_Kid_Remix_0.wmv)

http://www.howstuffworks.com/lightsaber.htm/printable

Did you know you could use a light sabre to light a cigarette?

hmmm...  methinks there was a reason why a lightsaber was given only to people who had proven themselves worthy of *being* a Jedi  ;-P

I'd spend my time practicing, and chopping the heck out of everything with it.

Which says a lot about my worthiness as 'Jedi'!

~Archivist~

I've seen the movies and read a few of the books, and what I can say from reading them is that probably the reason why only the Jedi and the Sith seem to have lightsabers is that the jewels from which they are constructed are rare and hard to come by and the non-Jedi people already have more widely available tools that can cut through things the same way a lightsaber can. (You'll notice in the fourth episode that the stormtroopers managed to dredge up something to cut through the blast door fairly quickly when Luke and Leia barricaded themselves behind it in that big room with the bottomless pit. The original Star Wars novel suggested that this was something known as a "fusion cutter.")

The Jedi Academy book series indicated that lightsaber designs varied, and that some lightsabers came with dead-man switches, which would explain why these sabers didn't just burn their way through the floor whenever somebody dropped them in the first and second episode movies. I hadn't heard of the red lightsaber's particular qualities, but I did notice that in every movie, it was always the bad guys who had the red blades.

I notice also that until episode two, the blue sabers always seemed to go to an underling while the green saber goes to the the master. Note the symbolism:

In episode one, Qui-gon Jinn's blade is green while Obi-wan's is blue. In episode four, Obi-wan gives Luke his father's old blade, which is blue, and then borrows it back for his battle with Vader. Interestingly, Vader counters Obi-wan's challenge with the declaration "I am the master now" which may be a subtle hint that Obi-wan is doomed to lose because he's holding the blade of an apprentice (or as the prequel trilogy puts it, a "paduan").

When Luke faces Vader with another blue blade in hand in the fifth episode, he's still an apprentice himself and just as doomed to lose, although he survives the battle. In episode six, however, he returns with the green blade that indicates he is a full-fledged Jedi and wins the fight. From there, he goes on to be a Jedi master in the books.

Episode two is interesting specifically because, although it starts out with Anakin carrying a proper blue lightsaber and his master Obi-Wan carrying a green one, Anakin ends up holding a green blade during his battle with Count Dooku, with Obi-wan holding the blue one. This upset in the blade hierarchy reflects on how Anakin is becoming a renegade, trying to get ahead of his master in more ways than one. Mace Windu's unique purple blade, meanwhile, seems to indicate that he's at the top of this hierarchy as the head of the Jedi council, although Yoda, with his green master blade, is shown doing most of the actual training and administration.

I also read a technical manual which mentioned Exar Kun's double blade design, which it indicated he used to cut down a Jedi master on the Senate floor in front of a horrified crowd of senators. It was my understanding that the second blade was designed as something of a surprise, a little bit different from Maul's carefully coordinated attack with his double blade in episode one. Considering how easy it would be for Darth Maul to cut himself in half if he sliced at his opponent, it rather makes sense that he stabbed Qui-gon Jinn instead of cutting him.

If I could have such a blade? I'd probably use it in place of cutting tools as others have suggested. Considering all of the trouble it normally takes to cut down trees, I think a lightsaber would make an ideal logging instrument. It would also make a good rescue tool, if used carefully: it could cut someone free from a car wreck, among other things. I might personally try my hand at rock sculpturing with the thing. I'd also use it for killing chickens on the farm--the conventional methods are messy and cumbersome. I'd also use it for disposing of documents, since it could slice through whole stacks of paper without much difficulty.

As for selling the thing, forget it--if I have the only one, I'm not giving away such an advanced and convenient labor-saving device for any money. If everybody had one, or could get one, then who would need mine anyway? Since I'm not into Jedi politics, I'd probably want a plain old blue blade, a kind which seemed common enough in the movies such that no one would much notice if one happened to go missing from a Jedi inventory. ("Where's my spare blade? Hm. Oh well, not important. I've got my green one.")

Fearless Freep wrote:
>
>
> For the most part that, I'm always sorta amused when people go
> through the trouble of working out and explaining how
> futuristic, alien technology works


If you're interested in futuristic technology explained, read "The Physics of Star Trek." It talks about teleportation, warp drive, androids, phasers, dilithium crystals, and how all of these things are legitimate and then explains how they work. A lot of times Star Trek is notorious for truckloads of so called "technobabble" to cover up bald spots in explaining technology (ex. reversing the polarity of neutrons), but Roddenberry somehow knew what he was talking about when he designed the ships, communication devices, and weapons in the original and then later in Next Generation.

As for the design of the lightsaber, I question how a superconductor would fit inside the handle. Not only is it a large contraption, if you know anything about superconductors, they are COLD. In fact, the hottest (if you choose to call this hot) a superconductor to date is: "To date, the highest Tc attained at ambient pressure has been 138 K." (http://superconductors.org/Type2.htm) - where Tc means critical transition temperature, or the temperature at which the electrical resistivity of a metal drops to zero (http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/solids/scond.html#c2)--
If you remember high school physics, 273 K is 0 degrees C. 0 K is absolute zero, or the point where all matter stops vibrating.... something that can never be attained for other more difficult to explain reasons.

MEANING that at room air pressure (ambient pressure), the hottest the superconductor can be is far below that of freezing water.... approximately -135 degrees C. AND if you read further into the links I posted, you'll read that the type of superconductor that creates these relatively high temperatures for superconductivity is still not understood. However, superconductivity is more than likely the only way you can keep energy flowing with a high output in continuous cycle. The only thing holding this lightsaber back is the identification of these so called "crystals." They must have some very special properties to be able to function as expected in a superconductor (they must have a high Tc) and be extremely high energy, possibly radioactive...... or you could cop out and just say that it's the "force."

I have a headache...

I read this book about Darth Maul, back in the days before episode whatever.  When they make the crystal for the lightsaber, inside some sort of furnace, the Sith or Jedi stays there the whole time (many hours) focusing his force energy into the crystal, causing it's molecules to be arranged in a certain way.  That's why only people powerful in the force can make a lightsaber.

I'm quite a geek, aren't I?

I would blackmail my teachers. If they gave me homework I would ignite my saber. Then I would go to the White House and slash Bush

Uh huh....Uh. "Obi Wan"...you got a lightsaber...but no force powers. You can't stop a bullet from the Secret Service.  
Any one ever think that when you cut , say, metal...you get splashed with molten metal? Maby a Jedi can keep it off him/her/it, but us normal people...yipe!

Plus, I'd be waiting for "Obi Wan" (obviously a name for another drone from Moveon.org) with a "thermal detonator" (a.k.a. a grenade) in hand. Honestly, must you Bush-bashing buttinskis take the fun out of everything?

By the way, last time I checked, fear and hate were allegedly the main paths to the big bad dark side o' da Force. So what does that say about these paranoid kooks who hate Bush so bitterly that they advocate assassinating him?

You don't know the power of the Dark Side...

Sorry, I couldn't pass that up, too good of an opportunity.

oddin7 wrote: "You don't know the power of the Dark Side...

Sorry, I couldn't pass that up, too good of an opportunity."


Speaking of power, does the bloody thing operate on bateries or you are supposed to plug it somewhere and pray for your oponent not doing weird moves?

I'd say it probably runs on NiMH rechargeables. You'd definitely want to make sure you have extras...could you imagine being faced by an opponent who had brand new batteries in his sabre and yours were just about drained? You'd wind up having to pull out a blaster to get out of that situation...and we all know how uncivilized a blaster is.

After thinking about this, I'd use it in the kitchen.  It both cuts AND cooks at once.  What a time saver!  And guaranteed bacteria free.
-Ed

Believe it or not, I would actually use it for good...or at least it would start out that way.  Realistically speaking, once the government got wind of someone actually owning one of these lightsabres, they would take it immediatly, study it, and reproduce it...they would probably kill you too to save them having to explain where they got it.

On a lighter note, I would probably go to Japan and have a Samurai expert teach me swordfighting so I could learn to use it without cutting myself in half...

Regards power : In a SW novel, Luke uses the power cell from a blaster to recharge his Saber. Kinda like sharpening the blade on a metal sword.

     That would be really interesting if I had one. I think I should need the ability to use the Force or it would be too dangerous to control it--What if it is accidently turned on when hung on the belt?
     My mother says she would prefer to use it to kill houseflies and mosquitoes and I think this is one use of it.

My mother says she would prefer to use it to kill houseflies and mosquitoes and I think this is one use of it.

One heck of a bugzapper, hanging out on the porch

I have to wonder:  the Jedi can bat around blaster bolts with their lightsabers like they're baseballs.  But, considering the Empire can build giant space cruisers and Death Stars and stuff, didn't it ever occur to them to invent the shotgun?  Sawed off barrel, double ought buckshot...yeah buddy, I got your lightsaber right here.

That is good idea Hockstatter. Take one step further I would invent a bullet when it hits the lightsaber it would explode hitting the jedi with sharpnel. or just shoot em with a grenade launcher.

_____________________________
"We Greeks created democracy! You also created homos!"-Ghost World

I forget if I mentioned this fanfilm before but check out Ryan vs. Dorkman (http://www.theforce.net/fanfilms/fxprojects/ryandork/index.asp)
(I believe it's a Quicktime file)

(http://www.theforce.net/fanfilms/fxprojects/ryandork/still1.jpg)

The lightsaber choreography in this short action filled film is equal to or better than what we all saw in the Star Wars films.



Post Edited (06-02-05 02:07)

I seem to recall it was mentioned in the novel "The Courtship of Princess Leia" that Han Solo had some old-fashioned "slug throwers" in his hold. I think that means he had some pistols and shotguns that used hard ammunition instead of energy bolts. In other words, the Empire did have these weapons after all. Presumably, it just didn't use them much anymore because they were obsolete, although a scatter-shot device would pose quite a problem to a Jedi.

On the other hand, don't the Jedi have that "Force Push" they use to push solid objects (usually people) around? Maybe they're able to deflect bullets that way, too. Certainly, Darth Vader successfully blocked Han Solo's blaster bolts with his bare hands in The Empire Strikes Back.

Freep...ya know now, some one here will build a lightsaber bug zapper...just to prove they can....
Wheres my duct tape?....

Somehow I dont think Lucas ever considered this argument. : )