Lightsaber question...Clone Wars based...

Darth Sephiroth · Post by **Darth Sephiroth** » 2005-05-25 11:57pm

First off, I have yet to see Episode III, I've been waiting for the corwds to die down a bit first.

But I was rewatching my Clone Wars DvD and I spotted something that seemed odd, when Obiwan was fighting the bounty hunter, he stabs him and lets go of his lightsaber and it just stays put, it doesn't all to the ground or out. How the hell did it float there?

Darwin · Post by **Darwin** » 2005-05-26 12:22am

Durge's armor was likely dense and tough enough to require not incondiserable effort for the lightsaber to move through it.

Darth Sephiroth · Post by **Darth Sephiroth** » 2005-05-26 12:29am

With the way the guy moved I would have thought that it would have at least fallen back out through the same hole it created going in. And it didn't seem to have much oomph behind it going in.

Noble Ire · Post by **Noble Ire** » 2005-05-26 12:37am

Perhaps Durge's armor is lightly rienforced with cortosis, not enough to stop a direct hacking blow, but sufficent to hold a lightsaber in place for a limited time.

18-Till-I-Die · Post by **18-Till-I-Die** » 2005-05-26 12:42am

More realistically, it probably takes some force and effort to make a lightsaber cut. Just touchings omething will heat it, burn it, or melt it but only an application of force and pressure will cut it.

I think that covers the whole thing.

Darth Sephiroth · Post by **Darth Sephiroth** » 2005-05-26 12:48am

Then it still should have fallen out during the fight after that part.

18-Till-I-Die · Post by **18-Till-I-Die** » 2005-05-26 01:12am

If i recall, it did melt his armor somewhat. Perhaps enough to set it into place, until, IIRC, Obi pulled it out with his Tk and with some effort at that.

Jack Bauer · Post by **Jack Bauer** » 2005-05-26 02:35am

Durge's armor could be more durable than most and that explains the saber discrepency.

Molyneux · Post by **Molyneux** » 2005-05-26 02:44am

Given Durge's...unique body structure, I would think that as soon as he was impaled, he would draw back from the blade. It was probably only contacting his armor after that first moment, and not him.

Lightsabers do cause significant heating when they come in contact with solid matter - however, Durge's armor was obviously strong enough to repel blaster bolts without damage (probably too heavy for a normal human to wear), and could thus resist the heating effects for at least a few moments. With no force being applied to the saber other than gravity, it would have just stuck in the armor until it started to overcome the insulatory properties of the armor.

A similar effect may have happened when Yoda threw his saber into the clone trooper and it "stuck".

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2005-05-26 02:46am

18-Till-I-Die wrote:If i recall, it did melt his armor somewhat. Perhaps enough to set it into place, until, IIRC, Obi pulled it out with his Tk and with some effort at that.

Um, how is that supposed to work when lightsabre blades are pure energy?

Grandmaster Jogurt · Post by **Grandmaster Jogurt** » 2005-05-26 02:47am

Molyneux wrote:A similar effect may have happened when Yoda threw his saber into the clone trooper and it "stuck".

That trooper grabbed the handle before death.

Cykeisme · Post by **Cykeisme** » 2005-05-26 04:41am

I was under the impression that lightsabers experienced resistance when cutting through objects of high density and/or with strong atomic bonds.
You'd need more energy to break those bonds, and the lightsaber's power output is limited, so you'll have to slowly push it through as it cuts.

This is hardly a surprise considering the MagnaGuards have staffs composed of "Phrik" that are physically "solid" to a lightsaber blade.. it simply takes long enough for a lightsaber blade to cut through it that it seems solid.
As an aside, if I'm not mistaken, the name of the alloy Phrik originates from Dark Forces, where Dark Trooper armor was composed of it. Whatever it is, it makes for very good personal armor.

Mr. Durge's armor must be made of a material with similar properties.

I suppose that still does't explain why it didn't slowly fall out or cut its way downwards through Mr. Durge.

Spanky the Dolphin wrote:Um, how is that supposed to work when lightsabre blades are pure energy?

Doesn't the current theorized composition of a lightsaber blade include something in the lines of a frozen turbolaser bolt combined with a form of the same technology behind deflector shields? I'm a bit behind the times..

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2005-05-26 04:46am

Um, not the last time I checked.

Cykeisme · Post by **Cykeisme** » 2005-05-26 04:53am

Ok, sorry

I'd still venture that the behaviour of the material from which MagnaGuards' staves are made, when interacting with lightsaber blades, probably have something to do with this though.

18-Till-I-Die · Post by **18-Till-I-Die** » 2005-05-26 06:46am

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:
18-Till-I-Die wrote:If i recall, it did melt his armor somewhat. Perhaps enough to set it into place, until, IIRC, Obi pulled it out with his Tk and with some effort at that.
Um, how is that supposed to work when lightsabre blades are pure energy?

I dont know, but i dont think they're pure energy. Pure energy would be like light (i THINK now correct me if i'm wrong) and wouldnt form a blade at all. Most likely there is a tangible field containing it.

Also, Cykeisme's theory sounds rather plausable as well, that'd be my second guess (his armor was lightsaber resistant Phrink).

18-Till-I-Die · Post by **18-Till-I-Die** » 2005-05-26 06:47am

He's right though there was something writen quite a while ago, where it was postulated that a lightsaber was a blaster bolt 'frozen' in a ray shield. Unfortunately i forgot where, but i recall reading it as, i THINK, one of Lucas's original ideas.

Pcm979 · Post by **Pcm979** » 2005-05-26 07:03am

Haaang on. I thought the Magnaguard staffs repelled Lightsabres by generating an energy field of some sort between the two 'poles'.

Praxis · Post by **Praxis** » 2005-05-26 11:27am

Pure Sabacc wrote:Perhaps Durge's armor is lightly rienforced with cortosis, not enough to stop a direct hacking blow, but sufficent to hold a lightsaber in place for a limited time.

Cortosis "blocking sabers" is a game mechanic. It doesn't function ANYTHING like that in the real star wars universe. Cortosis does NOT "resist sabers". When the saber touches cortosis the saber switches off, not bounces off.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2005-05-26 11:54am

Pcm979 wrote:Haaang on. I thought the Magnaguard staffs repelled Lightsabres by generating an energy field of some sort between the two 'poles'.

The poles repell lightsaber blades because they're made of phrik. The energy tips inflict additional damage.

Pcm979 · Post by **Pcm979** » 2005-05-26 11:57am

Phrik must be hideously dense, then. Unless it's got some wierd property, ala game-mechanic Cortosis.

Post by **Vympel** » 2005-05-26 12:17pm

Btw, the trooper did not grab the hilt of the sabre. His hand goes up to his chest, but it's not touching the sabre.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2005-05-26 12:23pm

Have we ever seen a lightsabre blade get shorter because it's blocked by something? Because given a finite power output, it is not possible for a lightsabre blade to move without resistance through matter unless it would experience a shortened penetration as a result of greater speed.

If you sweep a laser of known power across a piece of metal, the depth of the cut will depend on how quickly you sweep it. Since we have never observed lightsabres ever failing to extend to full length no matter what they touch but we have observed people slowing down their lightsabre movements when cutting through solid objects (most notably Qui-Gon in TPM), it's not unreasonable to surmise that there is some physical resistance to movement through solid objects in general.

Grandmaster Jogurt · Post by **Grandmaster Jogurt** » 2005-05-26 02:13pm

Vympel wrote:Btw, the trooper did not grab the hilt of the sabre. His hand goes up to his chest, but it's not touching the sabre.

Dangit! First thinking there's non-Jango clones, now this. This is what I get for sitting in the back row of the theatre.

Lord Revan · Post by **Lord Revan** » 2005-05-26 02:23pm

Praxis wrote:Cortosis "blocking sabers" is a game mechanic. It doesn't function ANYTHING like that in the real star wars universe. Cortosis does NOT "resist sabers". When the saber touches cortosis the saber switches off, not bounces off.

is it game mechanics or just another form of Cortosis (and it resists as in "is harder to cut thru", not "the blade will bounce off like its made of rubber")

Darwin · Post by **Darwin** » 2005-05-26 02:44pm

Praxis wrote:
Pure Sabacc wrote:Perhaps Durge's armor is lightly rienforced with cortosis, not enough to stop a direct hacking blow, but sufficent to hold a lightsaber in place for a limited time.
Cortosis "blocking sabers" is a game mechanic. It doesn't function ANYTHING like that in the real star wars universe. Cortosis does NOT "resist sabers". When the saber touches cortosis the saber switches off, not bounces off.

Different properties have been given to pure cortosis or cortosis alloy (Switches off) vs cortosis weave (resists).