What is the most Advanced Technology in the Star Wars Galaxy

Robert Treder · Post by **Robert Treder** » 2004-01-07 10:50pm

StormTrooperTR889 wrote:Light source...

If you'll kindly watch The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, or Attack of the Clones, you'll see that lightsabres don't give off as much light as flashlights. And my guess is that flashlights are safer and less energy-intensive.

The Cleric · Post by **The Cleric** » 2004-01-07 10:54pm

Robert Treder wrote:
StormTrooperTR889 wrote:Light source...
If you'll kindly watch The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, or Attack of the Clones, you'll see that lightsabres don't give off as much light as flashlights. And my guess is that flashlights are safer and less energy-intensive.

I was going off of a book quote (Darksabe, Luke and Han in Jabba's palace). I guess it wouldn't be possible to measure the light emitted?

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2004-01-07 10:55pm

StormTrooperTR889 wrote:
Darth_Zod wrote:applications such as . . . .?
Light source, dissolving things, melting things. And cutting through almost evey substance in existance.

a flashlight would be more efficient as a light source. for melting things . . .well, it might be at that.

far as cutting through almost every substance in existence. . . well, the point here is to find out applications for a lightsaber besides cutting things.

Darth Raptor · Post by **Darth Raptor** » 2004-01-07 10:58pm

How about as a defensive system? If you could cover a vehicle in a network of lightsaber blades they could deflect blaster shots, as well as plow through obstacles and other vehicles.

Robert Treder · Post by **Robert Treder** » 2004-01-07 10:59pm

Just about the only application I can think of for a lightsabre being used by non-Force users in battle is for demolitions. But even then, a grenade will do the job cheaper in every instance.

And, let's not forget that in the ANH novelization, Ben Kenobi hints that lightsabres are still used in some parts of the galaxy. Take that as you will.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2004-01-07 11:00pm

why not simply install energy shielding instead?

Robert Treder · Post by **Robert Treder** » 2004-01-07 11:00pm

Lazy Raptor wrote:How about as a defensive system? If you could cover a vehicle in a network of lightsaber blades they could deflect blaster shots, as well as plow through obstacles and other vehicles.

That's called a shield, basically. They have those.

Darth Raptor · Post by **Darth Raptor** » 2004-01-07 11:02pm

A lightsaber web wouldn't be the same as a normal deflector shield. It would go through anything aside from a forcefield or another lightsaber web. Also, it wouldn't weaken the blade to deflect blaster bolts, unlike shielding, which is depleted by absorbing hits.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2004-01-07 11:07pm

a normal deflector shield would be more efficient. it wouldn't likely require the special power cells that lightsabers do and would be easier to create. how would you set up a lightsabre field around the ship anyways? you would need some way to arrange the emitters so it actually protects the ship

Illuminatus Primus · Post by **Illuminatus Primus** » 2004-01-07 11:11pm

StormTrooperTR889 wrote:
Illuminatus Primus wrote:
StormTrooperTR889 wrote:IP, you still haven't addressed the funtionality of a small lightsaber acting as an emergenvy weapon. If they're so easy to make, why not replace vibro-blades with them?
Because vibro-blades work great without being extremely dangerous and needlesly over-complex and energy-intensive? The military doesn't like insanely dangerous-to-the-user and ultra-complex combat knives...
Lightsabres are low-energy drawing. And vibroblades are quite dangerous themselves. Lightsabres have applications beyond simple cutting as well.

Bullshit. Lightsabres can put up high-megajoule energies.

Vibroblades can actually be felt and aren't weightless or as complex. Much safer.

Darth Yoshi · Post by **Darth Yoshi** » 2004-01-07 11:15pm

Lazy Raptor wrote:A lightsaber web wouldn't be the same as a normal deflector shield. It would go through anything aside from a forcefield or another lightsaber web. Also, it wouldn't weaken the blade to deflect blaster bolts, unlike shielding, which is depleted by absorbing hits.

Unless of course, the hilt analogues get hit.

Honestly, vibro-blades work just as well in most situations, and are cheaper.

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi · Post by **Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi** » 2004-01-07 11:31pm

I'd say the Death Star II. It's a testament to the sheer power generating and industrial capabilities of the Empire.

Wild Karrde · Post by **Wild Karrde** » 2004-01-07 11:32pm

....Aren't the Eclispe I and II the same?

Illuminatus Primus · Post by **Illuminatus Primus** » 2004-01-07 11:42pm

Wild Karrde wrote:....Aren't the Eclispe I and II the same?

No. They're distinct classes of ship.

Eframepilot · Post by **Eframepilot** » 2004-01-08 01:43am

In the old Marvel comics non-Force-users were seen using lightsabers occasionally. Baron Tagge in particular comes to mind.

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2004-01-08 01:52am

Illuminatus Primus wrote: Bullshit. Lightsabres can put up high-megajoule energies.

Proof?

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2004-01-08 01:55am

Lazy Raptor wrote:A lightsaber web wouldn't be the same as a normal deflector shield. It would go through anything aside from a forcefield or another lightsaber web.

Deflector shields can damage objects. They obviously transfer momentum (so a ramming ship would transfer its momentum to a target through its shields) - but shields can inflict damage on objects as well (which is why capital ships can be destroyed by collisions with Planetary shields, not to mention missiles and such.)

Also, it wouldn't weaken the blade to deflect blaster bolts, unlike shielding, which is depleted by absorbing hits.

You base this on....? (They have shielding that can reflect blaster bolts as well - watch TPM.)

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2004-01-08 02:01am

Techno_Union wrote:Well I figure that the Galaxy gun can do the same job as the Death Star and it does not have to risk itself by actually going to the planet. Not to mention the missiles have one of the fastest hyperdrives, strongects shields and armor, and they are able to tone down their effect to the size of a ship or planet.

No, but the missiles are still interceptable/deflectable, they take longer to destroy a target, and you have to manufacture the ammunition. The Superlaser can be fired so long as you have the fuel to do it (and you can tuen a superlaser as well.)

Moreover, a Death Star fills out more roles than being just a planet-destroyer. It is a mobile garrison, command center, etc.

Technically, a Death Star is virtually invulnerable once constructed, so the security of the Galaxy Gun being around Byss isn't precisely an advantage.

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2004-01-08 02:04am

Illuminatus Primus wrote:
Ender wrote:Actually, Shadow Hunter says it is a technology the Jedi tried to keep a secret after the last sith war to prevent another dark side uprising.

That's the dumbest fucking thing I've heard today. They had all kinds of Dark Jedi rejects who knew how to build lightsabres, which is precisely how the last Sith arose, and that measure would do nothing to stop a repeat of that.

How does that contradict the fact they tried, exactly? Nothing says it had to be an effective ploy.

Not to mention they did precisely jack and shit about all the Sith artifacts laying around everywhere in the Outer Rim as the EU proves. Hell, this accounted for most of the other Sith resurgances.

I don't recall hearing about this.

That makes no fucking sense.

It doesn't have to "make sense" to be true.

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2004-01-08 02:14am

Stravo wrote:And if a saber could be easily reproduced why didn't Luke simply ask the rebellion to build him one after ESB instead of going to Ben's hut and working from secret files Ben had for just such an occasion? There has to be a reaosn why the Jedi kept this technology such a closely guarded secret that in fact one of the big rites of passage for a padawan was to build his own saber.

Not that I want to be giving the impression of supporting IP's incoherent ranting on the subject, but why do you attribute "highly advanceed technology" to the scarcity of lightsabers, or the apparent methodology of construction?

The Emperor has been rather vigilant in purging out nearly all traces of the Jedi from the galaxy (Courtship of Princess Leia - Luke is hunting for information of the Jedi, and Krytos Trap as well - Corran runs across information of the Jedi as well I believe.) . This presumably includes lightsaber construction. For that matter, possession of the knowledge, much less of an actual lightsaber, would probably be rather dangerous in the Empire (maybe even illegal.)

As for the methodology, we don't to my knowledge really even see any examples of non-Jedi constructing lightsabers, but virtually all Jedi examples involve very ritualistic and quasi-religious elements in the construction that is reinforced in the Jedi training doctrine. Luke's returning to Ben's hut may be more due to his training/Jedi religious practices than to any technical limitations.

IIRC anyhow there are examples of "cutting beam" technology in Star Wars anyhow - fusioncutters are one (which are both industrial devices as well as weapons), and Lando's Cutting Blaster in the Black Fleet Crisis is another. The lightsaber may simply be just another variation on that same technology (it may even potentially be related to blasters.)

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2004-01-08 02:17am

Technologically, I consider the DS2 to be the most impressive feat in Star Wars (although I would include Worldcrafts in this category as well - hell IIRC the novel "Rogue Planet" indicates that Planet-scale hyperdrives and sublight engines existed even in the Old Republic.) The technological and industrial base required to construct such a massive feat of engineering, to say nothing of its weapons systems, propulsion, and powerplant, is truly impressive.

Although Centerpoitn would also rank closely up there (A giant hyperspatial tractor/repulsor beam.) too, but thats not really "built" by the SW galaxy in general (although I suppose they might be able to duplicate it.)

Spartan · Post by **Spartan** » 2004-01-08 09:07am

Ender:

Actually, Shadow Hunter says it is a technology the Jedi tried to keep a secret after the last sith war to prevent another dark side uprising.

We know this is not true. In the canon ANH novelization Ben specifically says that lightsabre were widely used and still are in some places. Now obviously he not refering to just him and Vader.

Lightsabres and the tech to build them are rare becuase the emperor, purged the jedi and tried suppressed all knowledge about them. Despite that the tech for sabres still isn't that rare though the show up do show up in collections all over the EU especially in the comics. It appears a number of sabres ended up in the collections of various imperial officers, bounty huunter, etc.

They keep having darkside uprising because a powerful Sith is not limited by death. Hell look at "tales of the Jedi" and "Dark Empire 1 & 2". Their are whole planets of Sith artifacts and Possesed with Sith Spirits. Remember "Jedi Search" and Exar Kun. Just think hoe many lost Sith and Jedi artifacts must have been hidden of lost over the 25,000+ history of the Jedi. As long as the are corruptible force-sensitives their will be a darkside. Also since the Force can take action on its own behalf (ie Anakins virgin birth etc.) it might even be the reason that the darkside persists anyway.

Now to the original poll question, the most advanced technology in the Galaxy is obviously the hyperdrive, and after that the holonet. They doe for the SW galaxy what the steam engine and printing press did for our small world. Without them none the other stuff on that list are even possible.

Ender · Post by **Ender** » 2004-01-08 11:10am

Connor MacLeod wrote:
Illuminatus Primus wrote: Bullshit. Lightsabres can put up high-megajoule energies.
Proof?

The TPM door scene. someone calced it at 100 MW

Ender · Post by **Ender** » 2004-01-08 11:46am

Spartan wrote:Ender:

Actually, Shadow Hunter says it is a technology the Jedi tried to keep a secret after the last sith war to prevent another dark side uprising.
We know this is not true. In the canon ANH novelization Ben specifically says that lightsabre were widely used and still are in some places. Now obviously he not refering to just him and Vader.

1) Shadow hunter takes place 32-33 years prior to ANH. Plenty of time for change

2) Vader and Palpatine are not the only lightsabre wielding darksiders, it is entirely possible that Kenobi was referring to the Inquisitors and the Dark Side Adepts

Crazedwraith · Post by **Crazedwraith** » 2004-01-08 12:21pm

Illuminatus Primus wrote:
Stravo wrote:What about the lightsaber, it is so advanced that no one else has been able to replicate it except the Jedi who have kept it secret for thousands of years.

Source?

I'm with Bob Brown on that. The idea that the lightsabre is somehow something magical or ultra-arcane that engineers and scientists couldn't deal with it is dumb.

Its a piece of technology, nothing more, nothing less.

Really?
Read I,Jedi you'll see the force plays a large part in the construction of a lightsabre.

Read NJO:Conquest where Anakin's blade couldn't even activate until he'd foind peace with himself and the force.