PT Why do light sabers turn off when dropped ?

I have wanted to know this for a long time any help would be great

 

It appears and was said at one point that the wielder of the lightsaber has to be pushing the 'on button' and when they are not pushing it anymore the blade turns off. It is a safety measure so no one gets hurt.

A lightsaber can be locked into the 'on position'. This can be seen in RotJ when Vader throws his lightsaber at the supports of the catwalk Luke is standing on.

 

Safety function, kinda like the deadman switch on a chainsaw. If your hand isn't pressing the button down, the blade stops.

 

It's not a button, but rather the lightsaber handle has a pressure sensor. If the handle is no longer being gripped, then the blade switches off. And like was said above, there is an override switch so you can throw your lightsaber like Vader did.

 

Switch, or handle, as long as there is a pressure sensor, it's still a deadman switch.

 

So that this doesn't happen:

 

Yoda and Vader both threw their lightsabers without them deactivating once they left their hands. Perhaps they used the Force to keep holding the button down. But more than likely, each lightsaber is simply different with their own unique features and capabilities. I don't think there's anything truly concrete that would indicate what the case truly is.

 

My question is why lightsabers don't have a little foot-long chain that attaches to a band around its user's wrist. This way, if someone dropped a saber, it would only fall the length of the chain, and then the user could quickly retrieve it.

 

Yeah, things could get ugly with a double-bladed lightsaber unless the blades turn off very, very quickly!

 

Then it could swing and hit their leg if they dropped it.

 

But that could happen without the lanyard too.

 

If they dropped it and it was still attached to their wrist, it would be much more likely to swing around and hit them than if they dropped it and it just fell and turned off.

 

Makes sense


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A sensor.

Then you would be limited in how you could physically wield it.

 

This makes sense, as it would be pretty hard to maneuver your lightsaber during combat if you had to be actively pressing a button down the whole time. But a pressure sensor presents a whole host of other issues. It seems like it would be a little too easy to accidentally turn your lightsaber on.

 

The "on" switch is just a normal button (although some Jedi modify theirs so it can only be turned on with the Force). You can also turn it off via the same button. The dead man's switch is just an extra precaution.

 

Pretty sure it depends on each individual sabre. To have to constantly hold down the button during an intense duel doesn't really seem like a good idea. Your finger slips for a second and off goes your head.