Canon or No Canon: Lightsabers under water

I'm sure this is an old and overworked topic, but it's my turn to vent. I just finished Vision of the Future and now I'm confused. Do lightsabers work under water?
I thought that Canon said they didn't because Obiwan's gets fried in the Naboo swamp.

-Yet Animated Clone Wars (Canon?) shows Kisto Fit underwater with his lightsaber on Calamari.
-Splinter of the Mind's Eye has Luke's saber working in the underwater passage.
-Vison of the Future has Mara's saber (the same one from Splinter)working underwater in the cloning chamber in the Black Fortress.

And Timothy Zahn and Alan Dean Foster are very, very tied to Star Wars and considered the Father and Grandfather of the EA.

Thoughts?

 

The in universe explanation is that during construction of the Saber.. they can be made to where they will continue to function underwater.. however, not ALL Sabers are made that way.. *unknown why not.. there must be a trade off somewhere*

 

Don't forget Luke's working in ESB after he jumps into the swamp.

 

It might be that a saber working underwater requires a little more work to recharge or maintain...

But I admit it's very strange...


/Charlii

 

There's a small modification one can do to the lightsaber to make it function underwater.

Anakin obviously did so in the past (swimming in sewers, etc.) and still functioned, which is why Luke's functioned in ESB (same lightsaber).

 

or it could work under similar circumstances as a lightbulb and water.

If you take a light fixture and put it entirely under water and switch it on, it will work fine.

If you take the same fixture, turn it on, and then put it under water, the bulb will blow.

 

That does seem to be what happened to Obi-Wan's--IIRC, it wasn't the fact that he'd gotten the saber wet, but that he'd left the power on, or something of that sort.

TC

 

Timothy Zahn and Alan Dean Foster were involved in the creation of Electronic Arts?!?!

 

What, you didn't see them in the credits to Road Rash?

 

That would be the EU, not the EA.

My bad.

 

Don't forget Super Scuba-Luke in Namco Star Wars! His 'saber works just fine on Iskalon...

 

It is

 

He also used it underwater on Iskalon in the Marvel comics, and in another issue Kiro used it underwater to destroy that doomsday device.

 

Since every Jedi constructs a unique lightsaber, I don't see how this is a problem. Not every Jedi perhaps considers the underwater issue. Or perhaps there is a power trade-off.

Obviously it would be important to Kit Fisto.

 

If I remember the dialogue from TPM novel correctly, Obi-wan says that his lightsaber shorted out from the water, and Qui-gon asks him if he forgot to shut off the power or something like that. So I think that the lightbulb explanation that soemone said above is probably right. The saber must simply be deactivated when it is submerged, but can subseqently be activated.

 

Kit Fisto, Bant and Cilghal had intentionally made their Lightsabers to be waterproof. Obi-wan never bothered to, even though he knew that he should. It wasn't until he built his replacement saber, that he decided to waterproof it from the outset. Hence it remained ignited on Kamino. He probably encouraged Anakin to make his waterproof at some point. We know it was when he fought Ventress on Yavin 4.

This was cleared up in the Visual Directory for AOTC.

 

I don't think that fighting in the rain is the same as having one's lightsaber totally submerged in water though. I would think that all lightsabers would work in the rain. It's just practical. Jedi probably didn't have to fight under water very much, but fighting in the rain hardly seems like such an unlikely event.

 

My money's on this one , too.

side note: what about zero-g, vacuum space etc? I dont' recall any lightsaber fight in space.

 

Saese Tiin used his lightsaber in space during the Battle for Coruscant in the Clone Wars cartoon. It seemed to be working just fine...


/Charlii

 

In The Unseen Queen, Luke and Lomi Plo fight on the outside of an X-Wing. I don't see why a lightsaber could work in a vacuum. It's not like they need oxygen or anything to work.

Also, when Grievous smashes the window in ROTS, Obi-Wan's lightsaber stays on until he deactivates it.

 

Alright, The whole underwater thing comes down to two things, I believe. One, It is the construction of the lightsaber. If a person were from a world mostly dominated by water, IE:Mon Calamari, Then they would want to build a lightsaber that could withstand being turned on and off under water. If a person was from a dry planet, like Tatooine, then they might build one that can stand to be blasted by sand. It's all personal experience. If you're expecting something that might have an adverse effect, then you plan for it not to happen, but if not, then you don't. It is said that a lightsaber is often linked to the maker, it's as much a part of them as their appendages. In Shatterpoint, Windu is separated from his saber and finds it, because he can feel it through the force. If However, the maker was not planning for a water based use, then they might not be able to have it on continuously in the water, but I would think that in that instance, it is like the lightbulb thing.
Also, for the space thing, it doesn't need anything other than what it already has to work. It's blade is light, and light can travel through space, so...