Can the Federation build a lightsabre ?

[Sarevok]

Most likely yes. The Federation already has energy weapons like phasers, forecfield technology and minituarized power systems. By putting these things togather they might be able to build a lightsabre. I

[Patrick Degan]

Most likely yes. The Federation already has energy weapons like phasers, forecfield technology and minituarized power systems. By putting these things togather they might be able to build a lightsabre.

HUUUUUUGE Leap of Logic.

Federation science has never produced anything akin to a contained, stable shaft of energy emitted from a device of any size, much less something miniature enough to be hand held. Federation forcefields are sufficent only to contain plasmas in transit from source to destination, or to block incoming energies to a point. Furthermore, the lightsabre operates on a principle quite different from any beam weapon and certainly nothing dependent on inducing exotic chain-reactions in matter.

[Sarevok]

The Federation could produce continous phaser beams. So by containing the beam a forcefield they might be able to make it act like a lightsaber. Of course this is pure assumption. There is no definate evidence the Federation can do this.

[Lord of the Farce]

I'd say that their best bet is to try to see if they can adapt the holodoc's mobile emitter for the purpose.

[Patrick Degan]

The Federation could produce continous phaser beams. So by containing the beam a forcefield they might be able to make it act like a lightsaber. Of course this is pure assumption. There is no definate evidence the Federation can do this.

A continuous phaser beam and a stable contained shaft of energy which extends for only a metre and no farther are two entirely different things.

[Sharp-kun]

Most likely yes. The Federation already has energy weapons like phasers, forecfield technology and minituarized power systems. By putting these things togather they might be able to build a lightsabre. I

At best they could build something that looked and hummed like one, They could not make one that would work like a proper one (block other sabres etc)

[nightmare]

In the EU, only Jedi, Dark Jedi and Sith has lightsabers, no one else. It is stated that only they can build them. The movies show nothing to refute this. So, if normal SW techs can't build lightsabers, it's a fair bet that UFP tech can't do it either. The tech is there in case of the SW galaxy, but only a force user can do it..

[The Yosemite Bear]

Now the question is could a Jedi refugee who grew up in the Alpha Quadrant be able to make one when they were old enough after thier Jedi parent's left them there to be safe from Imperial Persecution?

[Lord Poe]

In season one of TNG, there are some alien who use lightsaber-like knives. Meaning they LOOK like a blade of energy from a handle, nothing more. I can't recall the episode name right now.

[Darth Wong]

There's also the question of the lightsabre's sheer power output and efficacy against heavy armoured objects such as a blast door which is more than a metre thick. If the Federation has no device the size of a lightsabre which can punch a hole through such an obstacle (and they've never demonstrated one), why would they be able to make a lightsabre blade that can do it?

[General Zod]

i think the closest thing i've heard of is a monoblade. not exactly a light saber, though it can damn well cut through almost anything, though the blade is almost invisible. it was used in one of the lost era books when sulu had to face off in a deul against a tholian on board their own ship.

[Darth Wong]

i think the closest thing i've heard of is a monoblade. not exactly a light saber, though it can damn well cut through almost anything, though the blade is almost invisible. it was used in one of the lost era books when sulu had to face off in a deul against a tholian on board their own ship.

Gene Roddenberry dismissed all of those books himself.

[Stofsk]

i think the closest thing i've heard of is a monoblade. not exactly a light saber, though it can damn well cut through almost anything, though the blade is almost invisible. it was used in one of the lost era books when sulu had to face off in a deul against a tholian on board their own ship.

Gene Roddenberry dismissed all of those books himself.

Did he state a reason? Such as, he didn't like the books? Or, he had no part in their direction?

[Darth Wong]

i think the closest thing i've heard of is a monoblade. not exactly a light saber, though it can damn well cut through almost anything, though the blade is almost invisible. it was used in one of the lost era books when sulu had to face off in a deul against a tholian on board their own ship.

Gene Roddenberry dismissed all of those books himself.

Did he state a reason? Such as, he didn't like the books? Or, he had no part in their direction?

I don't recall if he stated a reason, but he took an awful lot of flak for it. Most Trekkies, however, understood that the base reason was simply the fact that it was impossible to reconcile them together since there was never any effort at mutual continuity between them, and the continuity problems between them and ST:TMP were simply monstrous (for example, all of them showed Kirk and the Enterprise continuously active for many years after their five-year mission, while ST:TMP portrayed Kirk swiftly getting shoved into a desk job).

[Ghost Rider]

i think the closest thing i've heard of is a monoblade. not exactly a light saber, though it can damn well cut through almost anything, though the blade is almost invisible. it was used in one of the lost era books when sulu had to face off in a deul against a tholian on board their own ship.

Gene Roddenberry dismissed all of those books himself.

Did he state a reason? Such as, he didn't like the books? Or, he had no part in their direction?

Well aside from his once bold statement of "It's not Trek until I say it is!!!"

It's basically that it's impossible to reconcile all that goes on in the books with the movies and series because of the drastic changes in crew and stories.

I believe the only piece of literature accepted is the one he wrote personally, and that is Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

[Stofsk]

I don't recall if he stated a reason, but he took an awful lot of flak for it. Most Trekkies, however, understood that the base reason was simply the fact that it was impossible to reconcile them together since there was never any effort at mutual continuity between them, and the continuity problems between them and ST:TMP were simply monstrous (for example, all of them showed Kirk and the Enterprise continuously active for many years after their five-year mission, while ST:TMP portrayed Kirk swiftly getting shoved into a desk job).

What does George Lucas think of the Star Wars EU? Does he like it, hate it, feel neutrality?

If Gene Roddenberry hated (or dismissed) the ST books, it could be a sign that he didn't have full creative control over ST. GL on the other hand, seems to want to keep the universe reasonably consistent. Or at least, the people running the show on the EU want to keep things consistent.

I wonder how things would have gone had Paramount come out with a "statement of canonicity" much like Lucasbooks did with the EU. I would probably have bought more quality ST novels, rather than the marginally-useful-as-toilet-paper that I have now.

[Darth Wong]

What does George Lucas think of the Star Wars EU? Does he like it, hate it, feel neutrality?

He once gave the Dark Empire comics series to people as a Christmas gift, and he takes personal control over numerous plot developments (despite the hatred levelled at the author, it was GL himself who decreed that Chewbacca would die in the NJO series of books). He also personally owns the licensing firm (Lucasfilm Licensing) which tells novel authors what they can and can't do. The situation with respect to SW books is far more "managed" than the situation with ST books ever was.

If Gene Roddenberry hated (or dismissed) the ST books, it could be a sign that he didn't have full creative control over ST. GL on the other hand, seems to want to keep the universe reasonably consistent. Or at least, the people running the show on the EU want to keep things consistent.

As I said, GL has the ability to exert far more control over the EU than Roddenberry did over the ST novelists.

I wonder how things would have gone had Paramount come out with a "statement of canonicity" much like Lucasbooks did with the EU. I would probably have bought more quality ST novels, rather than the marginally-useful-as-toilet-paper that I have now.

A statement of canonicity would have been about as useful as a typical corporate "mission statement" (which is to say "not at all") without some kind of direct control over the content of the books.

[Illuminatus Primus]

Mike is right. LFL has armies of editors and EU experts with massive archives of data to check against everything and force each author to pour over a healthy synopsis of material before writing.

[Lord Poe]

I believe the only piece of literature accepted is the one he wrote personally, and that is Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

Actually, two Voyager era Trek books are the only other canon besides aired episodes and Trek movies. (Pathways, Mosaic) ST":TMP is not canon, as recognized by Paramount.

[Ghost Rider]

I believe the only piece of literature accepted is the one he wrote personally, and that is Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

Actually, two Voyager era Trek books are the only other canon besides aired episodes and Trek movies. (Pathways, Mosaic) ST":TMP is not canon, as recognized by Paramount.

Really?

Well, thanks for the correction.

[Rightous Fist Of Heaven]

What was the deal with the Clone Wars glitch in the Thrawn trilogy? When considering that LFL does exert quite a control over the stories and continuity of EU, that one bugged me a bit. Is it possible that Lucas hadnt thought of the Clone Wars in more detail during that time and when he started thinking of how they would happen he didnt let the EU dictate the course of his movies. This tough leaves the question that shouldnt LFL in that case have instructed Zahn to refrain from telling about the history of the Clone Wars to avoid a possible problem in the future.

[Sharp-kun]

What was the deal with the Clone Wars glitch in the Thrawn trilogy? When considering that LFL does exert quite a control over the stories and continuity of EU, that one bugged me a bit. Is it possible that Lucas hadnt thought of the Clone Wars in more detail during that time and when he started thinking of how they would happen he didnt let the EU dictate the course of his movies. This tough leaves the question that shouldnt LFL in that case have instructed Zahn to refrain from telling about the history of the Clone Wars to avoid a possible problem in the future.

At that time the Clone Wars hadn't really been thought out, however the story Zahn wanted to tell meant he had to include some references.

[Robert Walper]

Most likely yes. The Federation already has energy weapons like phasers, forecfield technology and minituarized power systems. By putting these things togather they might be able to build a lightsabre. I

Unlikely. At best, they may be able to build a crude imitation of one with far less power available to it.

The best way Starfleet could imitate a lightsaber would be use of the holodeck. Make the lightsaber visually and acoustically accurate, and then have the holodeck "reality" respond to it as enviroments generally do to a real lightsaber.

[Metrion Cascade]

They could make something like it (we have seen "laser scalpels" with short, contained, visible energy blades like a lightsabre), but even if the mechanism were similar the power would be lacking.

[Kerneth]

Even an elongated laser scalpel wouldn't function the same as a lightsaber; you couldn't use it in a defensive fashion, because the "blade" wouldn't be able to parry anything.