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Something that's always bothered me (about Lightsabers)...


DarthLinde

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  • 1 month later...

Okay, this looks like a really heated debate. lets put this on pause for a sec and look at things from a different point of view other than crystals and skill and all that stuff.

 

would you, as a soldier, prefer to lengthen a crucial battle by engaging with your enemies in a swordfight / lightsaber combat? or would you prefer to hide yourself from view in a safe overlook and snipe the crap outta your target? :) or even, set your blaster on rapid fire and just swing it around to mow down the advance party like bugs? it's considerably easier and efficient against a mass army to use a blaster than a saber or sword.

 

now a little more technical, several sources indicate that the blade of a lightsaber is pure energy and possesses no weight or mass. now why don't you roll up a news paper and try twirling it? the end you take for the emitter will eventually dice you up, were it a real lightsaber. even if an army is to fight only with swords or lightsabers, a normal sword's blade will have a small mass, giving it a considerable inertial force were it swung round at the target. but a lightsaber strike requires quite a large physical strength. a Jedi is able to strike hard due to help from the force and intense physical training from childhood. a normal soldier won't have tat crucial advantage in battle.

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I agree that it is simpler, less extravagent, and more practical, probably cheaper, to arm standard soldiers with ranged weapons like guns and blasters.

 

You can jsut look at todays army. No one uses swords on the battlefield. I mean, people might if they had the reflexes to block bullets with them, but they don't!

 

By the same token the average being in star wars would not have the reflexes to block blaster bolts, even if they are slightly slower than bullets (but not all that much). They couldn't do the saber boomerang throw either among other things.

There have been stormtroopers trained to use lightsabers, I think vader trained them himself, thats right, but they eventually turned on him, Vader dispatched them easily.

 

Regarding making the lightsaber. I think there are parallels between the construction of a lightsaber and the forging of a samurai sword or similar weapon. Samurai swords are constructed with MANY folded layers of steal over a soft iron core, a skilled swordsmith will often spend months creating one. It is considered a kind of spiritual ritual, fasting during the construction of the swords was not uncommon.

When you make a lightsaber, the housing is fine, but the focusing crystal is the key, i think the focusing lens is important as well.

You can have a natural crystal (usually an Ilum crystal that is blue or green) or use a synthetic crystal (like those used by the sith). Creating synthetic crystals is tricky, some jedi and sith manipulate the forming of these crystals with their own force influence while it is in the forge.

For natural crystals I dunno. Perhaps natural crystals still need some kind of force touch to manipulate the molecular structure of the crystal in order for it to work properly. It is said that some try and fail to make a lightsaber many times over.

Luke used components and a synthetic crystal forge he found in Obi Wan's dwelling on tatooine to construct his own lightsaber. He uses a synthetic crystal he created in a special forge.

The crystal is what determines the color. Lightsabers came in all colors before the battle of Ruusan (1000 BBY). After that there were only blue and green for the Jedi, and red for the Sith (these were Ilum crystals, but the sith used synthetic ones.)

Other sources of crystals were lost after that Battle. Ruusan was a source of those crystals, but that planet was lost and forgotten for a thousand years until it was rediscovered by Jerec and Katarn - (Valley of the Jedi).

 

As far as General Greivous (who was an amazingly dexterous cyborg anyway), and others using a lightsaber, sure they can! But for the untrained, ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side.

 

Now why do Jedi in the NJO era have lightsabers of all different colors? Well one theory is that some planet that has more useable crystals was discovered. The other is that creating synthetic crystals is a relatively new technology, which allows some crystals to come out a variety of different colors.

 

About red representing evil - nah. Its true that sith pretty much only use red crystals, but Luke made a red lightsaber for Leia. Later on I can only presume she made a green one of her own. But some other picture shows her using a blue one!! I think it was a cover picture for Legacy of the Force series. So i dont know what color lightsaber she has now.

 

That is all...

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  • 3 months later...
OK, lightsabers were around for over 4000 years, so how come through all that time, the Jedi and the Sith lords were the only two people smart enough to even think about using them. It's an all purpose tool being a sheild, sword, and metal cutter all in one. Yet, the jedi in all stupidity never once thought to train republic soldiers in using them. Same for the stormtroopers. Nineteen years with hardly any bother and the emperor never thought about training them to use them. If anyone knows anything about this, please tell me because it really bugs me.

 

Normal people do not have the reflexes and agility that jedi and sith have as you must know that jedi and twice as fast and have reflexes twice and fast as a normal soldier at their worst, a normal soldier is more likely to cut their own head off then some one else's. But thats just my opinion oh and don't bring up the shadow trooper project they are sith knights. Need I say more about shadow troopers?

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  • 2 months later...

The answer is simple: since the lightsaber blade is light, it has no weight, and therefore extremely difficult for someone without enhanced abilities to weild. Think about it, in order to keep from cutting off a limb you'd have to constantly keep an eye on the blade. Someone without extrasensory abilities wouldn't be able to do that as effectively, much less so while engaged in combat.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well most of these replys(the ones i read that is) are right. and as for Palpatine not teaching the troopers, 1 is that if all troopers had one he would be at a semi-risk of being over thrown i say semi for his mastery of the dark side.2 It is a closley guarded jedi/sith secret/tradition and he is big on the secret/traditions of the sith.3 the lightsaber is one of his and Vaders symbols of power and fear. If all his soldiers had one his control over them may diminish a little.4 the construction of a saber is difficult and if done incorrectly the hilt may explode, causing the death of many ST's(storm troopers). Thats all i have to say 'bout that feel free to quote and or edit this if you wish.

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1) There ARE non Jedi/sith/etc people using weapons built the same way as Lightsaber technology. Granted, most of them are not as well constructed, and thus not as powerful, but the tech exist.We also know that as least training saber can be constructed with more non-force craftmen.

 

Note that it is possable for non-force individuals to wield a lightsaber. It just takes lots of practice, and the margain of error is quite small. This is especially true for species with good reflex and regenerations and such.What troubles me is that while wielding it as a weapon may be hard, it is quite useful, though expensive as a UCT(universal Cutting Tool, imperial official name for jedi Lightsaber)

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  • 3 weeks later...
Han Solo seemed able to wield a lightsaber, and he had no force power that we know of...
\

 

he cut a taun taun open, not really ellagent. And grevoius was trained by dark jedi & Sith. :jumpfire:

 

Not to mension that with the republic And/or Empire training there troops it would lead to major rebellion.

Kill senator palpy! and Emporor Palpy to! Wait hes already dead!....kewl

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1) What are you trying to say?

 

2) Please don't double post, use the edit button.

 

There are also training droids with lightsabers. Also at least other known cultures are discovered to have used some version of lightsaber tech as weaponary. And yes there are also records of non force practisioners using them as weapons, though obviously they are much less proficient, and can't do many of the tricks, like laser deflection and what not.

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OK, lightsabers were around for over 4000 years, so how come through all that time, the Jedi and the Sith lords were the only two people smart enough to even think about using them. It's an all purpose tool being a sheild, sword, and metal cutter all in one. Yet, the jedi in all stupidity never once thought to train republic soldiers in using them. Same for the stormtroopers. Nineteen years with hardly any bother and the emperor never thought about training them to use them. If anyone knows anything about this, please tell me because it really bugs me.

 

Unless you can deflect blaster bolts or force run/jump to a foe before he pulls a weapon there useless, Obi-wan speaks of his as a way to focus one's self in the force, there a symbol as much as a weapon IMO

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