How does the lightsaber stop?

We all know Star Wars isn't a series that follows the exact rules of physics and reality, but I have a very important question:

How do lightsabers, after being thrown, just get stuck in something? I was watching "The Clone Wars", George Lucas's way of milking the franchise, and there's a scene were Yoda throws a lightsaber into an enemy soldier.

It just sits there, in his chest, until Yoda runs up and rips it out.

How does the lightsaber just get stuck in the guy? If it's really a beam of pure energy, it would've slid down and cut the man in half from the stab entry all the way to the ground, and then would've laid there burning a hole in the ground.

Better yet, how does a lightsaber react to water?

Also, energy does not simply stop at a point. The lightsaber has enough power to cut through anything, but it just comes to an end. How does a beam of energy simply end at one point? That's impossible, it would just keep going and going forever.

We all know Star Wars isn't a series that follows the exact rules of physics and reality,

-TheSecondSign-

Then how can we answer if we're not George Lucas?

The blade of energy may be smaller than the hilt, the light shining from it probably masks its true form. I read a star wars enyclopedia and it explained that some lightsabers could be used underwater and some couldn't. I don't remember if it explained how, though.

I think the reason why the the blade stops at a certain length depends on the crystal, the lens, and everything else that makes a lightsaber. I heard it takes perfect precision for one to work right or else it'd explode or something.

Haha, same.

Then Robot Chicken answered that question in the Star Wars episode where obi drops the lightsaber from Qui gon and it falls through the ship.:lol:

We all know Star Wars isn't a series that follows the exact rules of physics and reality, but I have a very important question:

How do lightsabers, after being thrown, just get stuck in something? I was watching "The Clone Wars", George Lucas's way of milking the franchise, and there's a scene were Yoda throws a lightsaber into an enemy soldier.

It just sits there, in his chest, until Yoda runs up and rips it out.

How does the lightsaber just get stuck in the guy? If it's really a beam of pure energy, it would've slid down and cut the man in half from the stab entry all the way to the ground, and then would've laid there burning a hole in the ground.

Better yet, how does a lightsaber react to water?

-TheSecondSign-

This might help you.

I think that the lightsabers might be made out of plasma, and i think that when plasma touches another thing made out of plasma both forces lock with each other, so maybe the stormtrooper's armor had some plasma coating *Shrugs*

(It was either plasma or ion, Modern Marvels had a segment on lightsabers being made in real life and i forgot what material it could have been made out of)

Perhaps the energy is just strong enough to pierce through anything when there is momentum and force?Hey_Jay

But that doesn't answer how the blade simply stops at a point without something there to reflect the energy.

And how does Quigon so easily rip the sword through a blastdoor in Episode 1 then?

This might help you.

I think that the lightsabers might be made out of plasma, and i think that when plasma touches another thing made out of plasma both forces lock with each other, so maybe the stormtrooper's armor had some plasma coating *Shrugs*

(It was either plasma or ion, Modern Marvels had a segment on lightsabers being made in real life and i forgot what material it could have been made out of)

AzureEm

[QUOTE="Hey_Jay"]Perhaps the energy is just strong enough to pierce through anything when there is momentum and force?-TheSecondSign-

But that doesn't answer how the blade simply stops at a point without something there to reflect the energy.

And how does Quigon so easily rip the sword through a blastdoor in Episode 1 then?

Well, he did take some time while the door melted =/

I think you're missing an even more obvious question. How does the beam stop where it's supposed too?FalcoLX

It's kind of funny, people always get pissed when they see movies that break the laws of the universe.

Ah there's no way that explosion could be that big!

But then everyone thinks lightsabers are cool, even though they break every law connected to them.

got your answers. I'll try to find em. if not, ill just edit it as to how I know it.

When you turn on the lightsaber you will notice the blade rapidly extending to its set length. You can adjust the length using the blade length adjusting knob. The lightsaber blade will make a distinctive sound that is typical of an arc wave energy field. You will also feel a gyroscopic effect in the handle, which again is a distinctive characteristic of the arc wave blade.

Lightsabers have changed little in the thousands of years of their employ by the Jedi Knights. Those who believe the Jedi order began on the ancient world of Ossus point to the abundance of Adegan crystals in the system as proof. These crystals are ideal for the creation of lightsabers, as they focus the energy released from a saber's power cell into the tight, blade-like beam. Early lightsabers did not have self-contained power cells, and were instead connected by a conducting cable to a belt-worn power pack.

Once unleashed, the power channels through a positively charged continuous energy lens at the center of the handle. The beam then arcs circumferentially back to a negatively charged high energy flux aperture. A superconductor transfers the power from the flux aperture to the power cell. As a result, a lightsaber only expends power when its blade cuts through something. So efficient is the blade, that it does not radiate heat unless it comes into contact with something.

The blade's color depends on the nature of the jewel it springs from, and while its length is fixed in the case of a single-jewel lightsaber, lightsabers equipped with multiple crystals can have their length varied by rotating a knob that allows the focusing crystal activator to subtly modify the refraction pattern between the gems.

With the Sith long believed extinct, lightsaber dueling occurred only within the practice chambers of the Jedi Temple. To a Jedi, a lightsaber is not just a weapon. It is a means of concentrating attention and becoming attuned with the Force.

[QUOTE="FalcoLX"]I think you're missing an even more obvious question. How does the beam stop where it's supposed too?-TheSecondSign-

It's kind of funny, people always get pissed when they see movies that break the laws of the universe.

Ah there's no way that explosion could be that big!

But then everyone thinks lightsabers are cool, even though they break every law connected to them.

I asked a Star Wars junkie friend of mine about the blade stopping at a certain point, and he said the crystal of the lightsaber is what caused it to stop.

After which I promptly slapped him!

(ok maybe he slapped me...)

oh yeah, as for the stopping in a body..

there is an arc field where the force of the plasma has a greater gravitational resistance to w/e objject it touches... and it just so happens that it is weak enough to enter a human, but one an object reaching the arc in the saber it meets resistance and stops the blades from going in farther. Remember QUuigon force pushing the saber into the door to melt it? he pushed it beyond its resistance.

in lamens terms, the blade goes to anylength, but is unwieldly at long lengths and is very costly on the crystal in the hilt.

Bio_Spark, that is just amazing. Wow :D

It's all in the Force.kingdre

and the crystal ;)

We all know Star Wars isn't a series that follows the exact rules of physics and reality, but I have a very important question:

How do lightsabers, after being thrown, just get stuck in something? I was watching "The Clone Wars", George Lucas's way of milking the franchise, and there's a scene were Yoda throws a lightsaber into an enemy soldier.

It just sits there, in his chest, until Yoda runs up and rips it out.

How does the lightsaber just get stuck in the guy? If it's really a beam of pure energy, it would've slid down and cut the man in half from the stab entry all the way to the ground, and then would've laid there burning a hole in the ground.

Better yet, how does a lightsaber react to water?

-TheSecondSign-

From my knowledge, the hilt was what got caught in him. Not the actual saber beam.

And sabers shut off when in water. I read it in The Phantom Menace. The scene wasn't in the film though.

Well for one I wish everyone would stop calling them LASERS. It's pure ENERGY. The reason why it stops is because one side of emitter is positive and the other is negative. So once the beam goes out a certain distance it curves back into the opposite end.

The movie scene was just that. A movie scene. Actually it is also possible that Yoda altered the settings on his lightsaber prior to throwing it (depending on the crystals in the lightsaber and its construction, you can control things such as blade intensity and length), so that could explain it.

Also about throwing the lightsaber, some lightsabers are pressure sensitive, so if the Jedi drops it it turns off. Others have switches on the inside that are controlled via the Force.

Another thing is, I absolutley HATE those shows that try to explain Star Wars technology. You CAN'T, because the materials in the Star Wars universe DON'T EXIST. So there may be imitation lightsabers some day, but they won't be a real lightsaber.\

Also it would be possible to use you lightsaber underwater. But since it would always be in contact with the water it would be constantly draining the power cell.

Edit: I see Premier101 already explained it a bit better then I did. :P

this might help

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Lightsaber#Underwater

the main reason are the crystal and the hilt if you look at episode 3 when yoda does it the saber stops at the hilt as someone said the blade is shorter then the hilt so the hilt which is some kind of metal would stop as the hole would not be big enough for it to fit and go all the way and then he pulls it back out with the force the only thing that is cannon and so real is the episode 3 you can do it in games like kotor but the saber just goes in a big loop with the games like a boomerang

Here's another question to you. when a lightsaber is turned on, what limits it's length?(brain explosion)

edit: I see someone else on the thread already addressed this problem

why does a galaxy far far away speak ENGLISH?!? :o

why does a galaxy far far away speak ENGLISH?!? :o

lonewolf604

Maybe they came to our planet brainwashed...

What I've always really wanted to know is why lightsabers turn off when thrown (like whenever a Jedi loses his saber and uses the force to get it back, it's always off at that point). But other times, like the Yoda thing you described, it stays on (also when Vader threw it at Luke in Return of the Jedi).yabbicoke

there is a lock button. i imagine this is its function

why does a galaxy far far away speak ENGLISH?!? :o

lonewolf604

they don't speak English in the star wars universe its called galactic basic all races have there own language but the main one that the government use is galactic basic so that became the language

because Yoda uses the force to keep it in place.Marksman2200

because it`s a special effect

The lasers don't stop.

Not ever.

Bio_Spark

I knew the second gunman never existed:o

why does a galaxy far far away speak ENGLISH?!? :o

lonewolf604