When I was a kid my friends and I would play in the forest behind my house pretending to be Jedi Knights defending the planet against the Galactic Empire. We used branches, plastic tubes, broom sticks, anything that we could even imagine was a Star Wars lightsaber. Sometimes we took turns being the good guys and bad guys and in the world of Star Wars, both sides are equally loved. But with today’s more advanced technology, is it possible to build a real Star Wars lightsaber today? FW: Thinking unpacked that question and examined some new found technology to see if we could do what we dreamed of as kids: build our own lightsabers.
We all saw the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer, right? Like, 100 times? And whether you’re a fan of the new lightsaber or you think it’s goofy, I’m sure we’d all love to get our hands on a real life version of this Jedi broadsword. But is such a thing even possible? While we can’t exactly control light to that degree, some exciting research has shown that we can make photons clump together like molecules under very peculiar circumstances. How are we able to boss light around, and what possible application could there be for this technology?
While we’re not quite there yet, I can imagine somewhere in the future lightsabers could become a reality. My parents did eventually get me a second hand plastic glow in the dark lightsaber which I loved so much it was obliterated for the greater good.
What do you think? Are lightsabers ever going to become a reality? Let us know in the comments below or on Google+, Facebook and Twitter.
Last Updated on November 27, 2018.
