The lightsaber was nothing more than a fictional idea that came about because of the fictional movie series Star Wars. For someone who doesn’t know what a lightsaber is then look at the urban dictionary definition to get an accurate description. With the release of the second Star Wars trilogy, lightsaber toys became the new hit. They could be found in any store such as Walmart, Target, or Toys R Us. Some companies, such as ultrasabers, have taken the lightsaber fad even farther and made web sites where a customer can customize their own lightsaber. Luckily for Star Wars fanatics, the toy aisle is not the end of the road for lightsabers. Scientists and MIT and Harvard have accidently created a “lightsaber”. Unfortunately this does not mean a real lightsaber will be the toy of the future.
Lightsabers as a sellable toy won’t become a hit across the United States because of how much a lightsaber would cost consumers. The most developed lightsaber currently on the market costs around $400. The problem is that this lightsaber is still just a more advanced version of something you could buy in Walmart. It has a polycarbonate tube that attaches to a spyder 3 laser. This is more advanced because the Walmart lightsaber is nothing more than colored plastic put together around a flashlight. The Wicked Lasers design is much more high tech because it uses similar technology to that of a laser light show. Now just imagine if scientists successfully took lightsabers to the next step. This means removing the plastic or polycarbonate tube and just having a beam of light that extended a few feet from a metal tube. Buying a real life lightsaber would cost well over a few thousand dollars because of the amount of technology that is needed to cause photons to flow a few feet and then bounce back without scattering across the whole room. The presumed cost to purchase a lightsaber is one thing that will keep it from becoming a common household item. Another factor is that the research and knowledge on how to construct an actual lightsaber are still in the baby stages.
Not much money has been put into research because most people just don't think an actual lightsaber can exist. Scientists also have more important projects to deal with. People don't think an actual lightsaber is possible because light particles, or photons, when emitted scatter throughout a room as opposed to stopping after a few feet like in a lightsaber from Star Wars. Another problem with creating a lightsaber is that photons aren’t solid so they will pass right through each other. This is different from the Star Wars movies, because in those, the lightsabers would clash like real swords. Scientists have reportedly discovered the first step to making real life lightsaber. They did this by cooling atoms with laser beams. This in turn slowed the atoms own enough to where they could form a solid like piece of matter. The thing is though that the results were accidental and they don’t plan on doing further research into developing a lightsaber. Instead they will use the information to help understand different scientific projects like quantum computing. It is clear that the technology to create a lightsaber does not exist yet and most likely never will because not enough people are willing to fund its research. But lets pretend everyone wants a real lightsaber and everyone will do whatever it takes to get one.
We will pretend everyone wants a lightsaber right now and scientists are willing to work in a lab until lightsabers are on every shelf in every store. We will look at a theoretical design for a lightsaber as well as some practical uses. The first thing we need to do is learn how to turn light into a solid material and this,as stated above, has already been accomplished by researchers at MIT and Harvard. So we will use their method and shoot lasers at photons and slow them down. Another thing that needs to be done is finding a way to keep the photons from extending throughout the room. This could be accomplished by attaching a small mirror at the end of the lightsaber. This will force the photons back to the source of light instead of turning into a laser pointer or a flashlight. So what are some practical uses for a lightsaber? First, a lightsaber would just be awesome to have lying around a house as a decoration. Now for some more useful suggestions. The most likely use for a lightsaber would be as a weapon in the military or for law enforcement. They could also be weapons for self-defense in place of a concealed firearm. It would work well because it would have the power to block bullets as well and cut through anything like in the Star Wars movies. Another option would be for surgery. The lightsaber could be made into a smaller less powerful model and be used instead of scalpels. This would benefit doctors because they wouldn’t have to worry about sanitizing their scalpels and other cutting equipment. The final use for a lightsaber would be as a construction tool. Companies could use a lightsaber instead of saws to cut wood, metal, or plastic. In theory, a lightsaber would be fun but it is also dangerous and could cause many deaths and injuries.
Back to reality, a lightsaber would be fun to have and has many everyday practical uses but lets be honest, we may never have the proper technology to make them and even if we did, the odds are people wouldn't want to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a lightsaber. To create a lightsaber, scientists would have to figure out how to turn photons into solid particles that would act as a blade of light. Another thing is that lightsabers would be very dangerous and could be deadly if given to criminals. Lightsabers may be cool in theory but unfortunately they will never be more than a movie gimmick.
