Science & Technology

Inventor builds real-life working lightsaber

By T.K. Randall
December 19, 2015

Image: AI-generated (Midjourney) Arguably the most sought-after science fiction weapon in history, the trusty lightsaber - a futuristic sword with a blade comprised of burning plasma - has proven very difficult to replicate in real-life.

Most replica and toy lightsabers are simple plastic rods with a light inside to make them glow and a sound-effects chip to make them sound like they do in the Star Wars movies.

There are however a select few that defy this convention. Allen Pan of YouTube channel Sufficiently Advanced for example wowed the Internet this week after posting a video of his latest invention - a working lightsaber with an actual burning blade.

The extraordinary weapon works using a methanol/acetone fuel mixture and butane as a propellant.

While the flame isn't quite as physical as the blade of the lightsabers in the movies, it can still do quite a lot of damage as demonstrated by Pan in the video as he instantly burns a photograph of infamous Phantom Menace character Jar Jar Binks when the flame comes in to contact with it.

As far as replica lightsabers go this one is undeniably impressive.


Source: Makezine

Tags: Lightsaber, Star Wars