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[DeepEnigma]

Try to contain yourselves, Star Wars fans - a YouTuber has created the 'world's first plasma-based retractable lightsaber'. You can see how he did it here:




Any self-respecting Star Wars enthusiast has dreamt of owning their very own lightsaber, but sadly for most of us, the closest we've ever got is one of those plastic ones, which are in essence just neon sticks.

But YouTuber James Hobson has made numerous valiant efforts to create a 'real' lightsaber, and his latest bid is his best yet.

Sharing his methodology on his YouTube channel 'The Hacksmith' - which has more than 10 million subscribers - he said: "How the heck do you build a plasma-based lightsaber?

"Well, theories say that plasma is best held in a beam by a magnetic field, which, scientifically, checks out.

"The issue is producing a strong enough electro-magnetic field to contain a blade. Well, the lightsaber would have to be quite literally built inside a box coated in electromagnets, which turns it into a kind of useless science project."


To get around this, the former engineer and product developer used liquid petroleum gas (LPG) as a fuel, which is mixed with oxygen and turned into a superheated beam.

Unlike previous attempts, this means the lightsaber doesn't have a metal rod at its core, which makes it less like a sword or a glorified stick. Plus, it can be retracted and still packs the punch to cut through a sheet of steel, burning at 2,200°C.




Hobson is able to change the colour of the beam too by adding different chemicals, with sodium chloride turning the beam yellow, boric acid turning it green, strontium chloride turning it red and calcium chloride turning it amber.

The main way in which the lightsaber differs from those wielded by Obi-Wan Kenobi and the rest of the gang is that it relies on a custom-built backpack to carry the LPG, as Hobson said a backpackless version would require unfeasibly powerful batteries.

Maybe one day though, when the force is with us - and our batteries.

YouTuber Makes 'World's First Retractable Plasma-Based Lightsaber'

It can change colour too

www.ladbible.com

 

[DeepEnigma]

Elon, get on the battery cells, STAT!

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

The only missing part is you can't "clash" a blade like this, but otherwise this is an amazing achievement. I love how he used chemical mixes to change the color of the blade (temporarily)

 

[lock2k]

This man has done more for Star Wars than the entirety of shit Disney did to the brand. What a badass!

 

[Cunth]

Pretty sweet. Imagine if you brushed against it though

 

[cryptoadam]

No kybar crystals no buy

 

[Davey Cakes]

Pretty sweet. Imagine if you brushed against it though

I know! The guy handles it very nonchalantly considering that it could burn through him easily.

 

[Goro Majima]

It’s a giant blowtorch but at least we’re getting much closer to the real thing with this.

 

[#Phonepunk#]

this pretty amazing. you could do some insane damage with that tho. 4000 degrees. whooo boy

love the needlessly ornate steampunk stylings. just that power pack alone looks cool af.

 

[Punished Miku]

That was a lot more impressive than I expected. Geez.

 

[MetalAlien]

No way you are getting that into comic con.

 

[Aggressive Carrot]

That's awesome. It's always cool seeing people turn things from games and movies into real world items.

this pretty amazing. you could do some insane damage with that tho. 4000 degrees. whooo boy

love the needlessly ornate steampunk stylings. just that power pack alone looks cool af.

Makes it look much cooler.

 

[TheMan]

It’s a giant blowtorch but at least we’re getting much closer to the real thing with this.

Yeah apparently there's not a ton of novelty here but it still looks cool, and all thing considered, in the real world this is probably as close as we'll ever get

 

[Codes 208]

I feel like I’ve seen this before, but it may have been a more archaic version as the one I saw wasn’t retractable. Instead he used a special metal rod tht would ionize and create a stationary current which was still pretty badass

 

[Nymphae]

It's a torch. Meh.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Holy shit... I didn't expect it to look that cool.

 

[Boss Mog]

It's kind of cool that crytals (salt crystals) change the color here too.

 

[infinitys_7th]

That's cool and all, but they should be wearing welding masks and suits. This is basically a propane welding system. If you can feel pain looking at a light source, there is already eye damage occuring. And if a piece of that melting titanium got knocked off at the wrong angle. . .

 

[MetalAlien]

That's cool and all, but they should be wearing welding masks and suits. This is basically a propane welding system. If you can feel pain looking at a light source, there is already eye damage occuring. And if a piece of that melting titanium got knocked off at the wrong angle. . .

 

[Rentahamster]

Not a bad piece of design and engineering. Props.

I love how in the information era there is a monetary incentive to just do cool, random, shit, because people on Youtube will pay you to go nuts.

 

[Pagusas]

filming it so you never see the top of the blade ...

 

[M1chl]

Not sure why would you look at that without glasses, however yeah it's pretty cool, after all these light sabres can be seen in oxy-fuel welding/cutting...

 

[DeepEnigma]

filming it so you never see the top of the blade ...

It shows the tip in some shots, it just looks more like a torch in comparison to a lightsaber on film. Still impressive though.

 

[GeorgPrime]

It shows the tip in some shots, it just looks more like a torch in comparison to a lightsaber on film. Still impressive though.

This is Version 1.0 after Early Access Builds. Now we have to wait for Version 2.0

 

[Kenpachii]

this is insane

 

[Hardensoul]

filming it so you never see the top of the blade ...

Probably looks like a huge welding torch.

 

[-Arcadia-]

(Looks at first working lightsaber prototype)

(Looks at Antifa riots)

 

[buizel]

Yes 2020 we need to arm everyone with fucking lightsabres.

Humanity u did this to urself

 

[MetalAlien]

Yes 2020 we need to arm everyone with fucking lightsabres.

Humanity u did this to urself

YES imagine an Antifa mob starts chanting to burn it all down or tear it all down and then in the dark facing against them....

edit we need some music to go along with it..

 

[Fbh]

We now need a "the VERY old republic" saga where both Jedi and Sith run around with propane cylinders on their back

But yeah, pretty awesome.
Way cooler than that other "lightsaber" which was basically just a hot metal rod.

 

[EviLore]

Test vid up:

 

[NecrosaroIII]

Test video is less impressive. The blade is usually very short. Looks to be constantly wavering.

 

[iconmaster]

I kind of prefer the flickery tip to the perfect neon tubes we eventually arrived at in Star Wars. Compare to the Ralph McQuarrie concept:

 

[Fbh]

Test video is less impressive. The blade is usually very short. Looks to be constantly wavering.

Yeah in the test version it definitely looks more like a big blowtorch than a "saber".

Still cool though

 

[RaptorGTA]

Very cool, the craftsmanship is insane.

 

[Lanrutcon]

That is the closest anyone has come by a long shot.

 

[Burger]

How many ads can you fit in one video.

*edit: Wait not just ads, a patreon as well as a youtube membership program! Christ.

 

[T.v]

It's just an off the shelf blowtorch with a fancy handle. Now I'm not saying blowtorches aren't fun to play around with, but a lightsaber it ain't.

 

[Hudo]

"Hey man, got a light?"