Is a Real Lightsaber Possible?

(And if not, how close can we get to one?)

Photo by Roman Koval from Pexels

Greetings Nerd Legion! Welcome back to Everything is Possible! Where we take something from your favorite stories and find out how feasible it is in the real world.

Ever since we first saw Luke Skywalker battle Darth Vader with a lightsaber, we’ve all had the same question: Where do I get one of those? Could we ever hope to see one in the real world? If not, how close to one can we get?

According to the Star Wars franchise, a lightsaber is an energy sword. It’s described either as being made of magnetically contained plasma or pure energy and it’s about 3 feet long from hilt to tip. The blade is retractable into the hilt. It can cut and burn almost anything except for:

• Cortosis, a rare mineral from the Star Wars Expanded Universe which can’t be damaged by heat or energy.
• Beskar (Mandalorian iron), a rare metal that only Mandalorian metalsmiths can forge.
• Phrik, a nearly indestructible metallic compound.
• Orbalisks, which are parasitic creatures that live in groups. Their armor is very difficult to pierce.

Lightsabers made from magnetically contained plasma