How would a real Lightsaber work?

In Star Wars, the lightsaber is one of the most iconic weapons. It is the primary weapon for both the Jedi and the Sith. It is an ancient weapon in Star Wars lore. Usually, it is created by a Jedi after they visit the planet Illum to retrieve a kyber crystal. They then use this crystal as a part of their lightsaber. It comes in many different colors, as well as variants. You have double-bladed lightsabers, curved lightsabers, blaster lightsabers, and more. There is so much variety. This brings the question of how a real-life lightsaber would work.

How do Lightsabers work in Star Wars?

Let's first talk about how lightsabers work in Star Wars. The lightsaber has three chambers. The first is called the Power Assembly. This chamber essentially stores a battery that can last decades, if not centuries. This battery is called a Diatium Power Cell. These batteries are made to last a long time. This way, Jedi don't have to change their lightsabers too often. There is also something called a conductor, which is used to transport energy to the rest of the lightsaber.

The second chamber of the lightsaber is where the Kyber crystals are stored. Contrary to popular belief, there are 2 Kybercrystals in a lightsaber. One of them is the primary crystal. This is responsible for powering the lightsaber. It channels energy from the Power Assembly to do this. The second Kyber crystal is called the Focusing crystal. This is what gives the color of the lightsaber. Usually, Jedi get these crystals on the planet of Illum. These crystals call out to them. The crystals are commonly either blue or green. However, they can also be purple or yellow. Meanwhile, Sith turn their Kyber crystals red by 'bleeding' them with negative emotions. This channels the dark side within them and turns them red. This channels energy to the blade. The Kyber crystals are given power by the energy gauge.

Source: Wookiepedia

The third compartment of the lightsaber is the Emitter Assembly. The energy from the focusing crystal is emitted here. The crystal energy is converted into arcwave energy. The cycling field energizers help with this. Lastly, there is the Blade Arc tip, where the energy becomes a visible blade. This is essentially how a lightsaber works. Some lightsabers have a feature that allows them to adjust the blade length.

How would a lightsaber work in real life?

A true lightsaber is currently impossible, due to our understanding of technology. However, we can get fairly close to building one. Most of the lightsabers that have been built so far are glorified blowtorches. The two best lightsaber prototypes right now are Alex Lab's lightsaber and Hacksmith Industries' lightsaber.

First up is Hack Smith Industries. Hacksmith Industries' real-life lightsaber was engineered using plasma-based technology rather than fictional energy sources. Their team built a steampunk-inspired retractable lightsaber that uses a high-pressure gas system to produce a flame-like plasma blade. The handle contains a fuel mix of oxygen and propane, which is ignited to create a superheated plasma stream capable of cutting through metal, reaching temperatures over 4,000°F (2,200°C). The blade is not solid but a column of contained plasma shaped by laminar flow and airflow nozzles. To give the plasma its iconic glow, different salts (like sodium chloride for yellow or boric acid for green) are added, which burn in various colors. Though it requires a backpack-sized fuel tank and is not combat-safe, it’s one of the closest real-world approximations of a functional lightsaber, blending physics, engineering, and spectacle.

The problem with this lightsaber is that it requires a backpack to be strapped on to work. It is more similar to the protosaber from Star Wars Legends. This was an early iteration of the lightsaber. Now, it is also worth mentioning that HackSmith Industries did create a lightsaber without the backpack. However, this is more like a staff since the hilt is 6 ft long. Which means it isn't a very practical lightsaber.

The other prototype is Alex Lab's design.  His lightsaber uses a high-powered nichrome heating element to ignite a stream of propane gas, creating a flame blade that resembles a real plasma weapon. The design includes a custom-built hilt made of metal, with internal wiring and a fuel system that stores and regulates the flow of propane. A button on the hilt triggers ignition, lighting the flame through an electric spark. Though not safe for combat, Alex Lab's lightsaber is an impressive demonstration of science, creativity, and craftsmanship.

Though Alex Lab has managed to shrink his lightsaber hilt similar to the ones that we would see in Star Wars, the main problem with it is that it can only produce a blade for around 30 seconds. On top of that, the prototype produces a very weak blade compared to that of Hacksmith Industries.

Both of these lightsabers have a problem, unfortunately. It is that when you take these and try dueling with other lightsabers of the same kind, the blades would just go through each other, unlike in Star Wars, where the lightsabers would clash. This is because the current lightsabers we have are essentially just streams of light, so they can't clash.

According to physicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, if you had lightsabers that utilized high-energy gamma-rays, it is theoretically possible for the lightsabers to 'clash' when dueling. This is because the high energy created from the gamma-rays would create a force.

Despite this, there are flaws to this design. First up, the obvious answer, we currently have no way to create high-energy gamma-rays and fit them into a hilt. Secondly, even if there was a way, Gamma rays are very dangerous, since they emit Gamma radiation. This means they could severely harm the user of the lightsaber.

In conclusion, while the lightsaber remains a mythical and symbolic weapon in the Star Wars universe, replicating its entire functionality in real life is still beyond our current technology. Engineers and inventors like the Hacksmith Industries team and Alex Lab have made impressive efforts at producing plasma-based replicas, demonstrating creativity and ingenuity. Nevertheless, the challenges—power limitation, non-solidity of blades, and safety concerns—demonstrate just how much remains to be accomplished toward building an effective, fight-worthy lightsaber. Even theoretical solutions, like gamma-ray-based blades, are riddled with risk to some extent because of radiation. But these attempts herein advance us toward bridging the gap between science fiction and science fact, provoking engineers and physicists to mature generations to come.