The Carcinogenic Lightsaber
The other day I was watching some Star Wars video on YouTube, and it occurred to me that there are some physics problems with the lightsaber. Of course, there is a large amount of pseudo-science surrounding physics, construction and use of the lightsaber. The lightsaber is purported to generate an 'arc wave energy field' and has an infinite cutting edge.
Apparently, "Other than emitting a colored light, a lightsaber blade was a massless form that neither radiated heat nor expended energy until it came into contact with something"[Ref], which stinks of bullshit. If it is emitting light, it is, by definition, expending energy. It is emitting light energy. The 'arc wave energy field' apparently emits that buzzing sound you hear in the movies. Isn't that sound energy? Wait. I think I have more plausible explanations for all of this.
First, the lightsaber is purported to have an infinite cutting edge. We can deduce that it is no smaller than the atomic level, as a swipe of a lightsaber doesn't incite nuclear reactions/explosions by splitting the nucleus of an atom. Since the lightsaber doesn't expend energy unless it comes int contact with something, it is reasonable to assume that the energy being emitted, such as the light energy, and the crackling sound energy comes from the 'arc wave energy field' coming into contact with molecules of air (nitrogen, CO2, oxygen, etc.). The crackling noise is probably due to molecules of air being ionized by the lightsaber beam, just like high voltage power lines crackle when molecules of air come in contact with them and become ionized.
This brings me to my next point: if the lightsaber is ionizing air, then it is necessarily a source of environmental pollutants and health hazards. Think about it. High voltage power lines produce ozone. Ozone is a major lung hazard, decreasing lung capacity, causing emphysema, and other problems. Ozone in the environment causes decreased metabolism and reproduction in plants, which will effect crop harvests and kill vegetation. Those farmers near a Jedi training ground should beware.
Of course, high-voltage power lines contain much less energy than a lightsaber (just ask any Star Wars fan). Perhaps rather than simple ionization of oxygen, there is enough energy to ionize the nitrogen in the atmosphere as well. Most of the atmosphere is nitrogen, so many more molecules of nitrogen get hit with one swing of the old lightsaber. Ionization of the nitrogen will produce nitric oxides like those found in car exhaust (NOx gasses, like NO, NO2 and N2O4). These are much more acute toxins and many times more damaging to the lungs. These are the brown gasses that give smog its color.
So what does this mean? Well, you'll be able to smell when a Jedi was around. The whole place will probably smell like Los Angeles on a good day, or perhaps a room with one of those ozone generators sold by Sharper Image (also known as the Ionic Breeze). It also means old Luke probably has emphysema and perhaps a bit of lung cancer.
Where's the evidence for this you ask? Take a look at Yoda. There's a reason Yoda moved into the woods: he needed more oxygen and his emphysema was too bad to continue screwing around with that lightsaber. Then Luke comes along, he turns on the lightsaber to train him, worsening his lung problems by more exposure to lethal gasses, and then he expires a short time later.
And what about Darth Vader? Some of his breathing difficulties are probably due to breathing in so many pollutants over the years, in addition to that nasty wound on that volcanic planet. And I'd bet a dime to a dollar that his breathing device has an ozone filter on it.
Perhaps new lightsabers need to come with a label: "This device is known to produce chemicals known to the state of Kalifornia to cause cancer."
Apparently, "Other than emitting a colored light, a lightsaber blade was a massless form that neither radiated heat nor expended energy until it came into contact with something"[Ref], which stinks of bullshit. If it is emitting light, it is, by definition, expending energy. It is emitting light energy. The 'arc wave energy field' apparently emits that buzzing sound you hear in the movies. Isn't that sound energy? Wait. I think I have more plausible explanations for all of this.
First, the lightsaber is purported to have an infinite cutting edge. We can deduce that it is no smaller than the atomic level, as a swipe of a lightsaber doesn't incite nuclear reactions/explosions by splitting the nucleus of an atom. Since the lightsaber doesn't expend energy unless it comes int contact with something, it is reasonable to assume that the energy being emitted, such as the light energy, and the crackling sound energy comes from the 'arc wave energy field' coming into contact with molecules of air (nitrogen, CO2, oxygen, etc.). The crackling noise is probably due to molecules of air being ionized by the lightsaber beam, just like high voltage power lines crackle when molecules of air come in contact with them and become ionized.
This brings me to my next point: if the lightsaber is ionizing air, then it is necessarily a source of environmental pollutants and health hazards. Think about it. High voltage power lines produce ozone. Ozone is a major lung hazard, decreasing lung capacity, causing emphysema, and other problems. Ozone in the environment causes decreased metabolism and reproduction in plants, which will effect crop harvests and kill vegetation. Those farmers near a Jedi training ground should beware.
Of course, high-voltage power lines contain much less energy than a lightsaber (just ask any Star Wars fan). Perhaps rather than simple ionization of oxygen, there is enough energy to ionize the nitrogen in the atmosphere as well. Most of the atmosphere is nitrogen, so many more molecules of nitrogen get hit with one swing of the old lightsaber. Ionization of the nitrogen will produce nitric oxides like those found in car exhaust (NOx gasses, like NO, NO2 and N2O4). These are much more acute toxins and many times more damaging to the lungs. These are the brown gasses that give smog its color.
So what does this mean? Well, you'll be able to smell when a Jedi was around. The whole place will probably smell like Los Angeles on a good day, or perhaps a room with one of those ozone generators sold by Sharper Image (also known as the Ionic Breeze). It also means old Luke probably has emphysema and perhaps a bit of lung cancer.
Where's the evidence for this you ask? Take a look at Yoda. There's a reason Yoda moved into the woods: he needed more oxygen and his emphysema was too bad to continue screwing around with that lightsaber. Then Luke comes along, he turns on the lightsaber to train him, worsening his lung problems by more exposure to lethal gasses, and then he expires a short time later.
And what about Darth Vader? Some of his breathing difficulties are probably due to breathing in so many pollutants over the years, in addition to that nasty wound on that volcanic planet. And I'd bet a dime to a dollar that his breathing device has an ozone filter on it.
Perhaps new lightsabers need to come with a label: "This device is known to produce chemicals known to the state of Kalifornia to cause cancer."
posted by ChemicalJesus at 6:43 AM
2 Comments:
Well one cold argue about the futility of trying to point out the problems of a fictional device in a fictional universe that has several conflicts with known physics (how did the Death Star focus all those seperate beams into a superlaser without a lens, in space). However, psuedo science in the name of fiction is a lot of fun, so with no further adu, my take on the lightsaber.
My theory is that basically a lightsaber is essentially a projected 1 dimensional event horizon. Be it to another demension (like the hyperspace drives they use) or to a singularity in space, who knows. This would probably behave a lot like a lightsaber. The color would be emmited from ionizing gas as that gas hits the event horizon. You wouldn't have any ionization products or much heat left around as the event horizon consumes those. It would cut through any solid matter object as the event horizon essentially rips the bonded structures apart.
But like all theories mine has quite a few holes:
1. Banging two of these event horizons together would probably result in a massive release of energy, barring any weird physics operating in the presence of an event horizon.
2. They would probably absorb blaster shots rather than reflect them, again baring any weird event horizon physics.
3. The color emited by the blade of a singularity horizon would be dependent on the gas it was in, also some gasses would emit some nasty x-rays instead of visible light. The only solution I thought up for that is if the event horizon is not for a singularity, but rather to another dimension (like hyperspace mentioned above) thus the color might not be from ionizing gas but rather from the interaction between one demension intruding on another,
4. How do you control an event horizon?
5. How do you move an event horizon (maybe it is constantly being created and destroyed every few nanoseconds, hence the hum and noise they have when being weilded).
Anyway that's my psuedo science theory.
Either way, you're still ionizing gas and producing carcinogenic molecules. Of course, the theory for opening a dimensional rift really creates chance for excellent random toxic chemicals. What if the place it opens to has an atmosphere of chlorine gas? Or worse? Ionized xenon? That'd be bad ass.
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