The coolest weapon in the Star Wars universe is the lightsaber, even cooler than the death star. It's a high-tech plasma laser, but you can swing it like a sword and show off your swashbuckling skills. The real genius of the lightsaber is that you can kill all kinds of people on film and never have to spill any fake blood (or clean it up). The ability to sell a ton of them as cool toys is a bonus. The best fictional weapon ever.
Lightsabers come with an in-universe explanation, which is that the business end is made of superheated ionized gas, or plasma. It would be hotter than the surface of the sun. In the real world, such a weapon would be impossible to train with, too dangerous to wield, and its actual use in battle would probably be a war crime. YouTuber Mr. Death explains in gruesome detail what a lightsaber wound would do to you. The good news is that such a weapon isn't at all feasible in the real world. (via the Awesomer)
Friday, January 30, 2026
Lightsabers in the Real World
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One psuedo-explanation I've seen for lightsabers, is, it takes strong control of the force to open the shielding around the plasma; a powerful force-user can focus huge amounts of energy, whereas a student can't open the pathways much, and is only risking a second-degree burn from an accidental own-body strike. But really, they're a McGuffin for cool sword fights in scifi.
Let's be honest: the instant Darth Vader showed you didn't need one to deflect blaster fire, the entire light saber mythology collapsed.
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