Would we use lightsabers?

Would we though?

If they have existed, which I think is very possible and will probably happen (If it hasn't already in some top secret lab) Would we use lightsabers if they were like the movies?

swords alone can be dangerous and light sabers can effortlessly cut through others and material. Unless if they had a power setting which you can change and make it more like a Training Lightsaber where it can leave some burns and bruises but not cut through anything.

I know many want them to exist (Again assuming they don't already) and then realize that maybe it would be too dangerous? What do you think? I don't think any muggers would mess with you though if you had one

I don't think you would mess with any muggers if hey had one, just like you don't mess with them if they pull a dirty old-fashioned gun on you, or even a knife, for that matter.
But no, I think lightsabers as they are portrayed in the films are some of the most dangerous and least pratical weapons one can conceive of. And of course, not possible as described - no idea how you reckon they are very possible at all. The closest thing i can think of would be something with an extendable blade made of a material that can get hot enough to melt through most others without itself getting soft in the process, but then the sheer power requirements to keep up the temperature along the entire blade surface like that would be borderline comical. Not to mention that there is virtually no way of protecting the wielder from that heat even if they don't cut themselves but just idly hold the thing.

If I had the ability to use a lightsaber I would 100% try.

Yes i definatly wooukd try... but just like any other weapon they would require extensive safety training... mess up with a sword and u get cut... mess up with a lightsaber and loose a limb.

Scientest can make a “lightsaber blade” today.... that being said the hilt is a bit cumbersome as it takes a whole factory worth of equipment and more power than than your house will use in twenty years to turn on a 15 inch “blade” on for just a few seconds....so i guess were still along way off from carrying them around lol.... still i think everyone has fantasized about having a real one at some point in there life.

Perhaps before we'll have lightsabers, we'll have protosabers where it needs a power source through a cord. Although I worry about how anyone would handle the intense heat as it is supposed to be plasma trapped in a force field. and I can't imagine how dangerous double bladed lightsabers would be or light whips.

I'd prefer a lightsaber pike as the blade would be farther away from you at least.

No.
Sources: that scene from raiders of the lost ark where Indy shoots the cocky swordsman

Rex wrote: No.
Sources: that scene from raiders of the lost ark where Indy shoots the cocky swordsman

I have to agree with Rex on this one; I'd certainly attempt it as a formal part of being Jedi, but it would be foolish to assume it would come into any real world realm of practical application. While it would technically be a more advanced weapon, the same is true of modern defense items, many of which (like firearms) do not suffer from the same limitations and draw backs as swords or knives; namely their reliance on you're opponent coming within stabbing distance.

Similar to samurai and their swordsmanship skills, it would be a relic of a bygone age. Samurai were actually kind of embarrassed about their swords for a time; even the ones with a reputation for their brilliant swordsmanship tried to downplay it, the reason being that archery was the much more martially respected skill set, while swordsmanship was retained as a last resort for being foolish enough to let them come within stabbing distance in the first place. It was during the 1960's and 70's, I think, that pop-culture really brought it back as a thing to be proud of, for being so romanticized.

Could the visual language of design in the franchise seems to indicate firing energy weapons from within shields impairs their effectiveness - for instance the X Wings when folded bring the weapons closer to the centerline then when deployed... pointing to a range of protection at about that distance, when in attack position moving the outer ends with the cannons to just outside the shield range. As a max efficiency design, in contrast to the blast through it of larger or cheaper platforms. So a saber then, perhaps as a defensive system... in the right hands can be bought to action without hindering the return of fire from a sidearm. And less of an offensive weapon by design, except for the romantics of bladed combat and ruthless gore fanatics of dismemberment!! To me its a defensive system first, which can be employed in ways beyond its main function - but that is my semi-pacifist bias.

It's actually kinda funny imagining what technology could even enable anything like a lightsaber. Batteries won't cut it, because while they can store enormous amounts of energy for very easy retrieval, their energy capacity per unit mass is rather low. That could be improved in principle, but that would render them even more unstable than they already are.
Another option is to use fuel. The advantage is a high energy per unit mass, but the disadvantage is having to carry around a combustion engine of some sorts, be it an internal combustion engine or a rocket engine and having to deal with the radiation and heat ontop of the one coming from the blade already.
Speaking of radiation, a surprisingly much safer way is to carry around a miniature nuclear reactor. Now you would have to properly shield it to protect the carrier, and that essentially means more concrete than reactor, so we're looking at a warrior with all the agility of a literal brick :laugh: ... but at least they could actually power the damn thing.
Basically in order to invent the lightsaber you first need to invent the arc reactor and at that point, really, what's the more impressive thing anyway?
Now this is all assuming some basic requirements for the blade, mind you: That it can cut through almost anything with relative ease, that it has an unchanging shape and length unless when extending, retracting, or adjusting some sort of setting controlling it, and that it can contact but usually not penetrate another blade of that type. This is why I'm not discussing blades made of plasma, as they fulfill none of these requirements.

Before there were lightsabers we know today, there were protosabers so maybe we'd have to have something like that which honestly would suck and kind of awkward to handle. if it is plasma inside a force field isn't it protecting you from radiation? i'd figure the heat is more dangerous and how you can even hold it.

I'd imagine if a lightsaber is difficult, I wonder how different it would be for curved hilt lightsabers or cross guards.

Lightsabers are actually more possible than people might think. Recently, there have been experiments with photons and they saw some pretty crazy stuff..

Turns out you can actually freeze photons in certain, mainly super-cold, mediums. Even certain crystal like mediums. Not only that, but when they're slowed down. They gain mass and can be stuck together. Creating superphotons.

Granted, it has more use in computing than weaponry for the time being. However, it goes without saying that it will probably get there.

As far as actually using lightsabers. They'll probably be more ceremonial. They'll have some use as a tool. It wouldn't be a primary weapon if a useful one at that. If i did it would be a pair along with other tools and weapons for maybe long expeditions or something. Then again, I'm pretty sure folks would think twice about mugging somebody that might have one concealed lol

However possible it may be. As students of The Force I think we should study to be proficient with whatever is necessary to defend Life. Other than that our focus should remain on our connection and flow in The Force. If lightsabers come with that. It's a bonus lol

Not really. The closest you'll probably ever get in this century is an acetylene torch. If someone does invent a flux capacitor, maybe

I could see them being useful for lawncare services, or lumberjacks. Other areas of the construction world. As a weapon? I have practiced with bokken and accidentally hit myself. A lightsaber would be much less forgiving. It is also all edge. So it is in most cases as much a danger to yourself or something else you dont want to cut as that which you do.

Uzima Moto wrote: Lightsabers are actually more possible than people might think. Recently, there have been experiments with photons and they saw some pretty crazy stuff..

Turns out you can actually freeze photons in certain, mainly super-cold, mediums. Even certain crystal like mediums. Not only that, but when they're slowed down. They gain mass and can be stuck together. Creating superphotons.

Right. Yea, well, I was arguing just the sort of costs it takes to have a blade that cuts with radiation alone, because I felt that it may be unfair to demand both that and a photon trap or what ever other kind of containment may be appropriate. But yes, while arguably very little of the description is impossible on the face of it, it is even less realistic than I was painting it to be thus far, and there may well be a case to be made that this is not a matter of our technology not being advanced enough, but that we are hitting natural limits there won't be much of any getting past.

Makes me think how dangerous double bladed lightsabers are if standard ones are too much

Like other things, I'm sure a setting can be added where you can increase the intensity and the heat of it if you wish, if we get to that point

Magnetic containment of plasma is a fun way to view it, with that containment field serving to 'repel' other containment fields (other lightsabers) by its magnetism. But if something enters the field then its basically passing into a furnace!!! The idea trips up on the science a bit, like how it would need to somehow contain the heat otherwise you'd get a bit too tanned from it

Would we? Well, as it stands now, many can't even agree that we should be using them in their current form simply to separate ourselves from the fiction. Some don't use them, as they are, on principle simply because they don't want to come across as just a huge nerd. Others (like myself) embrace that and just do what we want.

Now, would we carry around such a weapon (if the technology to make one as seen in the movies was to come to pass)? Well, perhaps. But at all times? Probably not. Maybe in places with open carry laws, but it would be treated the same as any other deadly weapon. Licenses, training, and legality would come into play a lot... and do we really need the law breathing down the neck of the Jedi community, making us political, or even worse, commonly seen as criminals in preparation because of the actions of a few people calling themselves Jedi but not following our code of nonviolence, love of life, and protection of the defenceless decided to go berserk with a lightsabre.

I, for one, have a lightsabre... or, more fittingly, a glorified glowstick. I could carry it about on my belt at all times, call it religious paraphernalia or whatnot, and probably get away with it. But why would I? They are, even at their cheapest custom quality, quite expensive. Carrying them about risks them being stolen, damaged, or lost. And its simply a loud flashlight. If it was a deadly weapon, I only imagine the price would significantly go up, at its cheapest going for, as we have currently, our highest end custom sabers. It would, to put it bluntly, make it nearly impossible to afford for the average person, and even if someone could get their hands on it they wouldn't want to risk taking it out and about daily.

I do agree, for ceremonial purposes it would be... well, bad ass. One of my favourite scenes from the fiction is from the 2003 animated Clone Wars series, Anakin's Knighting Ceremony.



I'd recommend skipping to ~57 seconds in, you'll see what I mean for those that have never watched that series.

Its a symbol that is integrally, unwillingly or not, that is bound to our community simply because of the name we took up to describe ourselves. If we called ourselves monks, we wouldn't have this issue. But no... we chose Jedi because of who they are, and their lightsabres were part of their Path and separated common man, or even them at the beginning of their Path, to who they are as Jedi Knights.

So... would we use them? Perhaps, for those that could afford them or could afford the resources needed to make one and had the technical skill to make it themselves. But as weapons? I'd hope not. Outside of training, symbolism, and ceremony, they are (as seen in the movies) dangerous and pose so many problems, maybe even escalating situations when they could have been handled more simply. Yes, they sometimes solve situations, cause everyone to pause before getting violent... but it would not only be us using them if they were made. It would be common men as well, perhaps even violent, deranged ones. And their actions with our symbol would reflect on all of us, even if we had nothing to do with it.

Although while I certainly don't agree that people should not have weapons, as it should not be illegal for one to defend themselves and others, I do think training should be required for a couple weeks, on safety, not only so people don't hurt themselves but don't hurt others in the process. Like with guns as someone who is not trained well can hurt themselves or innocents in the process. Same would apply for lightsabers especially

I always wondered did lightsabers have a special lock on it. When carrying it on your waist wouldn't the button be pressed accidentally and the blade would go through their leg. Maybe a safety lock like on guns?

Many did, from the fiction, but they were not typically visible. Many masters didn't even have buttons to activate it, having intricate locks inside the saber to turn it on, and only they knew how to do so efficiently.

Some did have buttons, but again had internal locks only they could turn on and off, or were just unable to be used without the Force. Usually this was done by Knights and masters, apprentices were often only given basic schematics to follow, and as such (and with their limited understanding and ability of the Force, they just had simple switches and buttons.

If there is any you would want to become real?

Standard

double bladed

double bladed spinning

curved hilt

crossguard

lightwhip

lightsaber pike

guard shoto


Would you dual wield?

Any particular color you'd like to see for the first time?