Hello, everyone. I'm Bodi, and as Yoda told you, I have some pretty cool things to show you. Thank's Mike!
I'm really excited about becoming part of the great community I see here. I did do some posting over at TCCS earlier this year and I see that some of my material (design images) has already been posted here, based on the imaginative reengineering of jedi hilt at tcss. I'll address that later, along with current ideas about real saber design, but first I would like to lay out my design, so you can see the original concept, and I will do my best to make it a little more understandable than the posts I submitted at TCCS. If you have any problem with the material being too complex, let me know and I will do my best to simplify it.
First, a little about me...
I was seven years old when Star Wars was released in theatres in 1977. It had more impact on me that I can put into words, as I know it did many of you. Star Wars ignited something in me to pursue the things have shaped my life.
A love of science. A love of the martial arts. Naturally these took me to Zen, Taoism, Buddhism, religion and spiritualty in general, psychology, parapsychology, among myriads of similar disciplines. Anything and everything that touches on the potential and meaning that lies within each of us in any way consumes me.
I am certainly no master of any of these disciplines, but as I continue to try to piece together my understanding of reality and humanity's place in it, it becomes more and more clear to me that there is an evolutionary leap in spiritual understanding that is occuring in the world.
I find that significant and I believe (although maybe I'm quite literally crazy to do so, and admit this) that while in my opinion George Lucas failed somewhat in his vision with the prequels (not that they weren't still pretty good), the first three original movies were .... prophetic. I think that he tapped into something that reveals one possible expression of that evolutionary leap mankind may be on the road to making.
Anyway, the whole point all this is that, to me, there is a symbol of that possible human leap. There is something that I can point to in a Zenlike way and say there it is, in its suchness.
The lightsaber represents a tangible expression of something I cannot put into words, at least, not well, as this weak attempt to do so shows. The lightsaber represents the physical expression of all that defines what I want to be, and I cannot express the meaning that such a thing has for me, only say that I feel compelled to walk this path, and that I believe it is a path with heart.
So, I would like to share an engineering idea I have for real lightsabers. This is mostly speculative, mostly just imagination, although the science is fairly sound, and I have some experimental reasons to believe it could work, although there would be a great deal of research needed to actually bring it to reality, if it is in fact even workable.
Some considerations and criteria:
The following points are those which MUST be considered in any attempt to seriously construct a working device. They are implicit in the nature of what we are attempting. Consider this to be a checklist we can use to sift through ideas. Any model which purports to be valid and workable MUST adhere to each of these points and solve the difficulties inherent in them or it simply is not feasible. We will be examining some design models later based on this list, and constructing our own model with it in mind.
Point # 1 - Power
Any model we can consider will almost certainly require large amounts of energy. Since we have a limited amount of space for the power supply, it is of paramount importance that any method of generating the blade be within the limits of the amount of power we can supply.
We can easily calculate an upper limit to how much power we can supply in the amount of space available. So the first question we must ask of each model is this: Does the design allow for the blade generating portion to be powered from a supply that can fit in the handle along with it and the controls?
Incidentally, power and energy are not quite the same thing. Energy is the capacity to perform work, power is energy acting over time. For more information on this topic, as well as the distinctions between volts, amps, watts, joules, etc., which seem to give people some real problems, I will post some basic info later, if needed.
Point # 2 - Size of Blade Generating Apparatus
The other side of the power issue. Once again, we are working with a limited amount of space. It does us no good to have a plausible means of generating the blade, if the gear to do so fills a room, or if it cannot fit in the space we have left after putting in the power supply.
Point # 3 - Safety
Even if we have a method of generating the blade within these parameters, if it inundates the user with x-rays or some other harmful radiation, its no good. If the device works, but the handle becomes red hot during use, its back to the drawing board. And so on. We must consider any unintended side effects and either eliminate or minimize them to an acceptable level. While a lightsaber is, of course, by definition, an unsafe device, we must still ask, "Is this model dangerous or harmful in a manner we didn't expect"?
Point # 4 - Current Technology
It goes without saying that the apparatus must make use of existing technology or at least be plausibly within reach of existing technology. This seems so obvious as to be silly, yet many models ignore it. Research along new lines of thought is perfectly acceptable, but we must have a basis for believing that it will yield results, and some practical means of attaining them.
Point # 5 - Adherence to Design Goals.
This point also seems so obvious as to be redundant. However, it seems to be ignored frequently, so here it is. Is the design we have for a working lightsaber actually a design for a working lightsaber? If so, then the blade must have the following characteristics:
Solidity - The simplest way to express this is to say that the blade must be able to deliver kinetic energy as well as cut through an object. A less technical way to express this is to say that if you strike an object with your saber, and it doesn't cut it, it will bounce off, and the object will have a tendency to go the other way.
Rigidity - The blade must not bend. If it has some slight give to it (like a really hard rubber baton or such), this may be acceptable, however, it must be strong, and have the ability to resist considerable force.
Destructive Potential - It needs to be able to quickly cut through most, if not all objects, like....well....like a lightsaber
Defensive Potential (see solidity) - The blade must be impenetrable to other lightsaber blades as well as material objects (if they are not cut immediately, of course).
I'm really not worried about 'blaster" bolts, since at the present time, there are no such thing as 'blasters'. Although we do have lasers, you don't see them much in handheld weapons at this time. In addition, I somewhat doubt that there would be many, if any, who would actually possess the qualities needed to perform such a feat as blocking 'blaster' bolts at this present time, even if lightsaber's and 'blaster's' were both real. We'll beat that horse when we come to it.
Length - The blade is apx. 70 - 80 centimeters in length, and remains constant in attributes from the first centimeter to the last. This means it does not fade or change down the lenght of the blade.
This constitutes a good starting point from which to consider our models and ideas.The above points are not negotiable. They must be adhered to or the design is flawed. However, there are certain additional points which are preferred, but may be variable, as long as all of the above are met. For example, it is preferable that the blade be more or less pure energy. I would rather not have a telescoping rod, or other physical medium involved in any way in the blade itself, but if it works (in accordance with above), its a possibility. It is also preferable that the device be electrically powered.
Let's begin with a very incredible man by the name of Nikola Tesla. Tesla was a Serbian/American inventer who quite literally changed the world. In spite of this, many people have never even heard of him! I think this is a great tragedy, considering that if it were not for Tesla, history and the world we live in now would be a very different place.
Tesla was born on July 9th, 1856 in Austria/Hungary. Among his many accomplishments was the invention of radio. Yes, radio, and no, it wasn't Marconi. Though Marconi was given credit for inventing radio, the US Supreme Court later recognized in 1943 that Tesla's patent had priority over Marconi's, who incidentally was a student of Tesla's. Can you imagine a world without TV or radio?
Tesla also invented the fluorescent light, and this was at a time when Edison was still trying to perfect the filament light bulb!
Take a look at any wall in your home. In fact, what is your computer plugged into right now? An AC wall socket. Guess who invented the polyphase alternating-current system we use today? Tesla. As a matter of fact, Tesla also invented a means to supply power to homes WITHOUT WIRES, and even built a tower and demonstrated it's workability.
Tesla also invented the principle of the rotating magnetic field, induction motors, and other forms of motors, and most electric motors used today are no different that those shown in his patents.
Tesla had over 600 patents to his credit, including a telephone repeater, high voltage/frequency power supplies (Tesla coils), remote controls, robots and many many others. It is entirely possible that he was the first man to detect radio waves from space. Tesla was the first to suggest the principle of radar.
Tesla took the first X-ray photographs, and his designs for "individualization" introduced the principle used in logic gates in computer circuitry. And the idea of breaking up signals, moving them around in frequency or time, lies at the heart of present-day communications security.
Tesla holds the first patent for a vertical takeoff/landing craft, which he received at the age of 72. Among his most amazing inventions was that of particle beam weaponry in the 1930's!
Tesla dragged the world into the 20th century while he was alive and pushed it into the 21 century from the grave. Hard to believe? Yes. True? Absolutely. Do some research, read some books, check out some Tesla links on the web, and see for yourself. Then write a letter to the Smithsonian and the history books, and ask them why Edison gets all the glory, while the one man most responsible for our technological status as a species is hardly mentioned.
Tesla died on January 7, 1943 in New York City, almost penniless.
Tesla's work provides us with several concepts, which, when taken together, allow us to imagine a possible means of designing a real lightsaber.
The first, and most important concept is that of turning energy into a field with matter-like properties of solidity and rigidity, a force-field.
Tesla found that as an electrical arc's vibrations were increased in frequency, the arc began to act strangly, almost as if it were becoming solid matter rather than simply energy. This of course, is not surprising in light of Mr. Einstein's later demonstration that matter and energy are really different forms of the same thing. However, whereas Einstein simply demonstrated this mathematically, Tesla demonstrated it experimentally.
Taking this further, we can postulate that if we had the ability to create a high enough frequency electrical arc, it would not be simply an arc anymore, it would be a force field, in the shape of a thread. Let's call this the Tesla effect.
We are talking about extremely high frequencies here. Much higher than we have been able to create thus far. I'm sure the waveform is important, too. You can research this in Tesla's work, but there is not a great deal of info on this to be had, more or less just a mention of the effect. However, it provides us with a beginning.
Let's assume, for the moment, that we could create an electrical arc at a high enough frequency to achieve this effect. How can we make a blade shape out it?
Well, let's now look at Tesla's concept of the rotating magnetic field. All electrical motors today use this principle. It is based on the fact that a coil with a 90 degree out of phase electrical current running through it produces a spinning magnetic field. Could we use a spinning magnetic field to spin our arc thread into a circular field?
There is one final concept to be understood, which comes not from Tesla, but from current research with superconductors. We know that a superconductor will reflect magnetic fields. Could we use this effect to reflect our spinning circular force field arc out into a blade shape?
Lets put it all together...
My blade emitter design is as follows:
The inner electrode is surrounded by a circular outer electrode as illustrated. The lower orange portion represents the superconductor which is being used as a magnetic mirror. The outer brown ring represents the stator coils. An AC voltage is applied to the electrodes at the lower end of the Tesla Effect range, which along with the introduction of certain plasma catalyst materials into the arc stream provides us with the 'Tesla Effect' plasmoid arc, or tesloid.
As the tesloid rotates,
the magnetic field it creates is reflected from the superconductor underneath and the tesloid is repulsed in the opposite direction of the emitter.
As the tesloid continues to expand, the alternating current and frequency is increased towards the higher end of the Tesla effect and power range, and the field repulsion in conjuction with this allows for the growth of the blade.
Please note - this is NOT a 'containment field'. It is merely the principle used to elongate the blade. At full extension, the AC reaches its peak for power, speed and TE.
Some Design Problems
Power - very large amounts of energy would be required. Typically, in a normal arc, apx. 1000V (1KV) is needed to produce an arc of 1 mm in length. Since our tesloid is apx. 1400 to 1600 mm in length (to produce a 70 to 80 cm blade) this would mean we need a voltage of between 1400 to 1600 KV or 1.4 to 1.6 MV (million volts) if it were a normal arc. Various factors, however, such as frequency, for example, reduce the voltage needed, and I estimate our tesloid of the required length would need around 100 -500 KV, which while still extreme, is somewhat less daunting. Amperage, on the other hand, is another matter, not yet figured, hopefully will be very low.
Electrodes - The electrodes will be required to withstand a large amount of heat and stress. Not the full force of the blades power, but still enough that their composition will constitute a problem. A plus in this area is that since the point of contact is constantly moving, only a portion of the electrode is in contact for any given instant, therefore the stress is mitigated over a comparatively large area.
Superconductor cooling system size problems. - Currently superconductors require very low temps to operate. This means installation of a cooling system, probably liquid nitrogen. Given that the blade emitter itself will be relatively small, this may not be insurmountable, but I'm sure will bring a host of problems, absorption of waste heat reducing performance, etc.
Insulators - Insulators of an unusual sort will be required, given the attributes of the device.
Interaction of the rotating field with the magnetic mirror problems
Interaction of the field coils with the magnetic mirror problems.
Field coil induction problems.
Size of components is a big problem.
Weight of the finished device - it would be difficult to keep the weight of the device within reasonable specs.
I hope that this serves as a decent introduction to the topic. I will go more in depth into the idea as we go along, and if there are any questions or comments, I would love to hear them! I look forward to discussing this with all of you, and hope that we can, at the very least, have a lot of fun talking about it.
For those of a more technical frame of mind, other backyard inventors, etc. - I have a list of research and design goals and protocals to investigate actually experimenting and engineering along these lines as well. Not for the faint of heart!
Thanks!
peace,
Bodi