Lightsaber colors???

Well apparently you can see the blade, according to that quote that sturm brought up. So it looks more like a dark etherael shadow it seems.

Anyone have knowledge of a type of electro magnetic radiation that exists outside of the light spectrum(for it to be dark it couldn't be in the light spectrum) that appears black to the nakid eye?

Or maybe it's produced by darkmatter?

 

The lightsabre has a blade that emits light, not a blade made from light. To try and figure out the blade properties by using electromagnetic or optical rules doesn't work very well...

 

So... um... if the blade isn't made from light, what's it made out of?

 

Raptor rage, it depends on the source material you read. Many sources say that it's focused energy from a crystal through an emmiter. From what I read, in the EU lightsabers share a cross between light and plasma(depending on the source it sways slighty more in each direction). Plasma can't be focused through a crystal without destroying the crystal. So the emitter section has to some how convert the focused energy into a useable plasma-like form(though some sources say it's the focused energy that somehow is bent back on itself by magnetic force fields). Recently they discovered that by use of certain type of maganetic field that light could be slowed down and nearly stopped in a kind of form of stasis, but when the field was turned off the light sped up back on it's way. Articles on this phenomena are rather relevent to the light bended theory put forth in some EU material(this also fits into the field of bose-einstein condensation, A.K.A. the 5th state of matter[see VP's helska battle for a star wars equivalent of it]).

For something to emit light it has to let off photonic particles, in the visible light spectrum. Plasma always emits light and is made up of ions and protons in an accelerated state from what I have read in encylapedias.

 

The blade is a form of "pure energy" that emits no radiant heat, but can cauterize flesh and melt through dense metals. It is opaque to other forms of energy, so it can deflect or absorb blaster bolts and the blade also casts shadows. The cut of the blade can be near microscopic in size. The energy blade emits a humming sound, that changes tone and pitch as it is moved through the air.

If you include the West End Games RPG rules for sabre construction that have become the 'official' explaination for how lightsabres work, then some form of natural crystal, or manufactured jewel, or baked gem, or even in some cases a fake paste diamond can focus the raw energy from the sabre's power cell into a coherent beam. The type of crystal/jewel/gem also determines the color of the blade. Using multiple crystals/jewels/gems, somehow being affected by such optical rules as amplitude and refraction, can yield varying blade lengths and colors. The blade also doesn't expend energy unless it contacts another lightsabre blade or object, and has been referred to as a 'standing arc wave' by a few people.

 

Funny that you bring up the shadow's being cast. When LFL' has said that that was a movie blooper on their part that can be ignored(kind of like how ponda baba, has two different types of arms in two different shots).

Speaking of official descriptions there is more than just WEG, there is also the Official Star Wars Technical journal as well(which has the bent light theory), which is just as valid as any other source for how a lightsaber works.

Then there is also the star wars visual dictionary which shows that the crystals focus the light energy into some kind of emmiter/converter apparatus that changes into the energy that becomes the blade itself.

In the visual dictionary picture(one of the most recent sources), basically the crystals in a focusing chamber are linked up to wires that go into the converter cycling field energerizers, which then go into energy modulation circuits that change the energy further. Then another set of wires from the modulation board, connects to the blade arc tip where the actually blade is emitted from.

As well the visual dictionary states that the emmitted blade is some form of electromagnetic energy, as well as having a gyroscopic effect making it hard for non force users to use. As well saying that the crystals have to be naturally-occuring and not synthesized. It says the slightest misallignment will cause the blade to detonate on activation.

 

Listen guys that thing could be UV, Gamma or X-ray, it would have to be something that has a higher frequency than light. This would make it invisible. Plasma as I said before could be the ticket. It doesn't exist on earth, so its properties would be unknown and its behavior bizzare. I'm not sure I have this completely correct. Damn, where is Genghis, do I have my physics right here? I'm goin' back and read Val's post r-e-a-l slowly to see if I understand this stuff. You would have to do this on a Friday.

 

Plasma always emits visible light, from what I have read.

Though there is philosophical idea of darkmatter, that hasn't been tested or proven yet, that could be a form of dark energy according to physicists.

 

Actually, plasma does exist on earth... or, well, its a natural occurrence. Lightning = plasma.
And if you've ever seen those Jacob's Ladders... the stuff that burns between them is plasma. Fun stuff

 

Ya, and plasma can be made in labs under the right circumstances (As well as a nuclear explosions). But it's no where near as powerful or hot as the stuff in the sun.

 

Star Wars Technical Journal of the Planet Tatooine, 1993

Referring to Anakin's sabre given to Luke-
Anakin Skywalker's saber was roughly 24-30 centimeters long and featured a handle body of polished durasteel. An inner shell contained the incredible energies generated within, without transmitting their heat to the device's outer surfaces.

Referring to Luke's green sabre-
This new self-built unit shares those elements common to all sabers: It houses a power cell within its handgrip; crysallite lenses are faceted to perfection; a focusing core channels the intense energy of the cell into a coherent beam that bends circumfrentially back upon itself to create a cutting "blade."

 

Plasma can be opaque, Val like it is in the sun and then you'd get the right temperature for the sabre as well. Something like a tiny neutron star thing would behave like a black hole some and suit the bill, but then it would be too heavy for somebody to carry.

Darkmatter, get darkmatter out of the topic, it would then be just minute particles, wimps, machoes, maybe even neutrinos if they have mass and last I read there is evidence they do. Darkmatter it is definately not. These are just particles, but if you use quantum mechanics....I'll e-mail Alex Fillipenko and see what he thinks about this thread. The staff astronomer at Chabot Observatory was reading this thread last night and said it was right amusing, what ever that means.

 

It's a fantasy enery blade. That's all I need to know. : ^ )

Jedi Ubo

 

I i'd love to hear that person's idea, if he is someone fully knowledgeable in this field.

Astronomy is not really my forte, though I have read alot about it. But I'm a real laymen when it comes to it, so I'll take your word for it on the darkmatter thing.

Here is the visual dictionary's physical and text description:

[image=http://photos.netclubs.com/live/photos/photocenter/3/u/p/e/peltqlmao54kjb62cb3n0e9b9s/light.jpg]

In anycase this visual cross section should show that there is several places of conversion that change the light into another form of energy.

 

It says that a misalignment of the crystals causes the lightsaber to detonate upon activation... Tenel Ka's lightsaber's crystals were misaligned and it caused her to lose a hand... but it didn't blow up...

??

 

I have to note that the visual dictionary is written from lucas's notes, and ideas for the movies themselves, by one of lucas' own direct employees Dr. David West Reynolds. He has worked for lucas as an onsite technical consultant for the movies as I recall.

As well the book says that he had complete access to the vaults at skywalker ranch for props, as well as ILM's technical data.

So from that knowledge I would have to say that tenel ka was just extremly lucky.

 

Basically, you're saying the tech manual is canon, the books aren't? =P

 

No, I know that officially all sources are considered canon according to lfl standards, I'm just trying to let people know that the ideas in the visual dictionary come from making of the movie and behind the scenes, prop data, and information that lucas has thought up, or others that work for him and that had put ideas to film.

Whereas EU idea was more of authors imagination. But I know it can all fit, but you have to understand that you are getting a look into making of the movie's ideas in the movie visual dictionaries, written by those in lucas staff.

As I recall, corran tried to use a synthetic crystal and it ended up burning-up on him in a fight.

 

EG to weapons and technology talk about how the blade is a closed energy loop that arcs back because of a negatively charged high energy flux aperture that rings the outer edge of the lightsaber(similer to the idea made by the star wars technical journal).

 

I remember reading somewhere that Darth Maul created two gems to use in his double-sided lightsaber... Those would technically be synthetic, yes? If this is true (about him growing them, I mean), why does his work?

 

Maybe the sith have perfected a way to use synthetic crystals. Don't underestimate the power of the darkside, and sith secrets. Perhaps it takes a bit of the darkside to infuse the strength needed in the gems to make them work properly. A power that the jedi themselves would not touch.

Infact that is what the official sites theory is:

sith lightsaber

"Unlike the Jedi, who use natural crystals mined from such worlds as Ossus in the Adega system, the Sith prefer synthetic crystals to generate their lightsaber blades. While the crystals are being forged in a blazing furnace, it is not uncommon for a Sith to reach out with the Force and manipulate the process, focusing his hatred for the Jedi to increase the potency of the crystals."

 

Actually I think that Thundarr the Barbarian in one of those Ruby Spears cartoons of the 70's was the first to have a lightsabre. Even though it was called a Sunsword. It also could only work for him. Could Thundarr have been a Jedi.

 

Here is the official sites explanation of how jedi lightsabers work:

"Lightsabers have changed little in the thousands of years of their employ by the Jedi Knights. Those who believe the Jedi order began on the ancient world of Ossus point to the abundance of Adegan crystals in the system as proof. These crystals are ideal for the creation of lightsabers, as they focus the energy released from a saber's power cell into the tight, blade-like beam. Early lightsabers did not have self-contained power cells, and were instead connected by a conducting cable to a belt-worn power pack.

Once unleashed, the power channels through a positively charged continuous energy lens at the center of the handle. The beam then arcs circumferentially back to a negatively charged high energy flux aperture. A superconductor transfers the power from the flux aperture to the power cell. As a result, a lightsaber only expends power when its blade cuts through something. So efficient is the blade, that it does not radiate heat unless it comes into contact with something.

The blade's color depends on the nature of the jewel it springs from, and while its length is fixed in the case of a single jewel lightsaber, lightsabers equipped with multiple crystals can have their length varied by rotating a knob that allows the focusing crystal activator to subtly modify the refraction pattern between the gems.

With the Sith long believed extinct, lightsaber dueling occurred only within the practice chambers of the Jedi Temple. To a Jedi, a lightsaber is not just a weapon. It is a means of concentrating attention and becoming attuned with the Force."

 

you people know too much