Lightsabers and setting stuff on fire.

[JenDoon]

Why can't it just be up to the wielder - it is their force control that holds the blade tight - but i assume if you were good you could control the output. You would normally keep it tight and hence more effective to slash/stab rather than wasting the energy.

Just a thought to possibly explain.

I've never heard that. Han solo used Luke's lightsaber and it cut just like it would if a Jedi was using it. Jedi don't use the force to "hold their blades tight", though I do know they can influence the blade in small ways (making it brighter etc).

We are slaves to canon and lore, and there is nothing in lore that supports lightsabers setting clothes on fire.

[Beckett]

As i undestand it light saber is a plasma-like substance caught within containment field.
Fire is reaction of oxygen to overheating, there is no fire in no oxygen envirnment.
That containment field have absolute reliablity, we never see lightsaber turned into plasma torch, which would be the case if its energy is exposed to oxygen.

Its safe to presume that all destruction processes lightsaber cause are happening within that said containment field, where there is obviously no oxygen to fire , so lightsaber passed through obstacle just desintegrate matter(or melt, whatever) within its field.

Matter within field dont fire cause there is no oxygen there and very very quickly there is no matter as well. Matter near cut doest fire because its separated from the cuted area by that said containment field.
We never see any heroes wileding sabers sweat when activated blade was near their exposed skin , nor was there any sort of its reddening indicating high temperature.

So we can say near lightsaber temperature doesnt really change, hence the term "lightsaber", not heatlance or firepike or meltasword.Word Light doesnt communicate change in temperature.

In the first episode door melt because i think that hard metal was really hard and refuse to disentegrate exposed to lightsaber field and was slowly started to melt fueled by itself. In the rest cases matter was destroyed to quickly to start any such process.

P.S. Oh great i just wrote a post "How dos Lighsaber work", i guess thats official indoctrination into SW Geek..i mean fan .I can safely now start to watch Big Bang Theory.

[Aurvan]

More info that may help explain it:

The weapon consisted of a blade of pure plasma emitted from the hilt and suspended in a force containment field. The field contained the immense heat of the plasma, protecting the wielder, and allowed the blade to keep its shape. The hilt was almost always self-fabricated by the wielder to match his or her specific needs, preferences and style. Due to the weightlessness of plasma and the strong gyroscopic effect generated by it, lightsabers required a great deal of strength and dexterity to wield, and it was extremely difficult—and dangerous—for the untrained to attempt using. However, in the hands of an expert of the Force, the lightsaber was a weapon to be greatly respected and feared. To wield a lightsaber was to demonstrate incredible skill and confidence, as well as masterful dexterity and attunement to the Force.

-Wookiepedia

[Malgunn]

An interesting take on the saber here... possibly quite dated... and all i know is when i made mine, no droid was there to 'protect' me!



Inside the Lightsaber

The interior features of any two lightsabers can vary in their details. However, the main features are remarkably consistent from lightsaber to lightsaber because of the common lineage of information.

The four major components inside any lightsaber include:

The power cell and associated components
The crystal energy chamber
The energy channel and blade arc tip
The controls

The Power Cell

Obviously a lightsaber contains a tremendous amount of energy -- far more than a blaster, for example. Any device that can melt its way through a three-foot-thick reinforced blast door in a matter of minutes obviously has access to tremendous energy reserves. Estimates range as high as several megawatt-hours of stored energy.

The source of this energy is a diatium power cell -- a device no larger than a roll of LifeSavers®. Diatium power cells are available from a variety of military and some civilian sources.

Surrounding the power cell is a power field conductor and the power vortex ring. These two devices work in concert with one another to move the available energy toward the energy gate. The energy gate controls the flow of energy into the crystal energy chamber.

The Crystal Energy Chamber

Really the heart of any lightsaber, the crystal energy chamber is responsible for primary energy conversion. At least two crystals (typically of the Adegan variety) are used in the energy chamber.

The first crystal is known as the primary crystal. It converts the energy channeling from the power assembly and then transfers its output to one or more focusing crystals. The focusing crystals are held in place by the focusing crystal activator.

The crystal energy chamber is the reason why all lightsabers are built by hand, and then only in the latter stages of Jedi training. The builder must align the crystals perfectly or risk detonation of the lightsaber upon activation. Only through the use of the Force can the proper alignment be guaranteed.

With several megawatt-hours of energy on tap, detonation is of course a catastrophic event. For this reason, initial activation is normally done remotely with an inexpensive droid.

The Energy Channel and Controls

The energy channel is where the actual lightsaber blade is generated. Energy flowing from the crystal energy chamber is converted to the arc wave that will become the blade. The arc wave flows up through the blade energy channel and past the cycling field energizers. These energizers are responsible for the gyroscopic effect discussed earlier in the article.

The refined arc wave makes its way to the blade arc tip and from there becomes visible as the glowing blade of the lightsaber that is so familiar.

The on/off switch, also known as the activation matrix, as well as the blade length and power adjustment controls are typically located near the cycling field energizers. Using these controls, the lightsaber's owner can tune the blade for specific applications.

thanks to 'how they work.com'

[Kaetha]

I've decided to hell with it. I'm going to put you all in an oven.

[Machior]

Guild BBQ! Yay!