Aww man... Not another lightsaber post.

Well... We've had posts on different lightsaber styles, colors, and many other topics. I still have a question about them.

Is the color of a lightsaber controllable. I once heard that red was the only controllable color, and that's why darksiders use red. They like to have control. I understand that the color is controlled by the crystals put into the lightsaber, but can a person decide what color they want it to be, then put the respective color creating crystals into it?

 

I am pretty sure that in the EU you can pick your on lightsaber color based on the crystal that are put in it.

 

Yes you can pick the different crystals and install them as you see fit.

 

WEll, according to the Mace commercial, his lightsaber is not a "Crystal Lightsaber" but an "Electrum Lightsaber," which probably explains why it's purple.

 

I thought Electrum was a type of alloy created by gold and platinum...

?

JMA

 

I thought Electrum was a type of alloy created by gold and platinum...

Maybe then Electrum is referring to what makes up the handle of the Mace's lightsaber, not what makes it violet.

 

Well, "crystal" applies to materials formed by the solidification of a chemical element, a compound, or a mixture and has a regularly repeating internal arrangement of its atoms and often external plane faces. Electrum (our electrum, at least) is a mixture, and hence considered to have a crystalline matrix.

Electrum would have a crystal structure. So while it's not a "Crystal Lightsaber" in the sense of "crystal = transparent quartz material," it can be a crystal in that "crystal = saber color."

Metals, elements and alloys do indeed have their own colors inherent to them, when burned for example.

Electrum is no different. In the GFFA, it happens to be purple when the lightsaber energy is channled through it, it seems.

 

I'm gonna take your word for it Genghis.

 

Well, I think the 'Electrum' refers to the handle of Mace's saber, which is gold.

 

Either way he has one of the best lightsabers ever !

 

Yes. it has been confirmed that the 'electrum' thing refers to the saber handle. Electrum is a metal alloy around Mace's lightsaber to show senior status on the Jedi Council.

 

I think it looks uncomfortable

 

From what the article on tfn said, it's only about the finish of the handle. Don't know how that affects the blade colour. Plus, he'd been senior council member before. This explanation stinks. Why do they have to go for the most spectacular explanation which do not hold up?

And Corran in "I,Jedi" build his saber without knowing which colour he'd get. He was lucky to get his favourite colour (Anakin when first activating his saber: "Oh s#*&, purple!" - Luke: "Watch your anger! Watch your anger!").
In EU, they still have to incorporate this idea of different materials producing diffrent colours. Maybe Luke doesn't know about traditional materials (although he knows 'something' about them, e.g. he builds one using notes by Obi-Wan), and the new Jedi don't stick to "use the crystal that goes blue or green, never use the crystal that goes red, and only use the crystal that goes purple if you're the second baddest person in the universe". Oh, "and crystals that go yellow, brown, orange, silver, or any other damned colour are EU stuff. Don't use them."
That's how EU came to life...