From: keith@cco.caltech.edu (Keith Allan Schneider)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.starwars
Subject: Re: Luke's lightsaber
Date: 12 Nov 1992 04:58:39 GMT
Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
NNTP-Posting-Host: punisher.caltech.edu

husty@cathedral.cerc.wvu.wvnet.edu (Steve Husty) writes:

>In article <1992Oct22.234704.29401@ll.mit.edu>, shoham@ll.mit.edu (Daniel Shoham) writes:
>> In article <1992Oct22.133910.3839@wvnvms.wvnet.edu> un032221@wvnvms.wvnet.edu writes:
>> >In article <1992Oct16.231057.19028@ll.mit.edu>, shoham@ll.mit.edu (Daniel Shoham) writes:

>> All in all, I don't think that this argument is very central to the trilogy.
>> What is more interesting, IMHO, is why are LS so valued? It still appears a
>> lame weapon compared to a blaster (someone has compared it to a sword facing a
>> machine gun). Are LS overrated? or what?
>> 
>> Dan Shoham
>> shoham@ll.mit.edu


>	ARE LIGHT SABERS OVER RATED?  What are you nuts.  How many people do
>	you know of who can deflect multiple machine gun bullets with a sword

Why not wear a bullet-proof vest?

>	and Ninjas don't count.  Luke is a master of deflecting blaster bolts
>	with one.  Incidentally, the Light Saber does have its own power 
>	source.  It is comprised of an energy cell, which needs to be recharged
>	about every 5 years.  The beam is projected through a series of 
>	crystals which.  Different light sabers have different crystals which
>	gives them their color and intensity.  The Force is necessary to 
>	weild a light saber properly, but not a must.  A light saber has no 
>	additional weight when the beam is on.  Now kids, try this at home. 
>	Take an ordinary flashlight, or similarly sized light saber sized 
>	object and imagine that it has a 1 meter length of high intensity,
>	energy which can sever steel.  Now swing the saber in several 
>	directions, arcs, movements etc.  Pretty easy huh.  Kinda cool, you 
>	can cut through nasties with little effort.  Now attack someone with
>	another light saber.  Oops, that blade bounced back and cut your head
>	off.  Now how did that happen?  Well, your natural reflexes cannot 
>	compensate for a force (physical not mystical) being reflected that
>	has no weight or "feel" to it.  A light saber swings the same whether

Huh?  Every force has a "feel" to it.  If it didn't, it wouldn't be a force.

>	cutting off your fathers arm, or a tauntuan's belly.  The harder you

I don't know about that.  Seemed to take some effort to cut things.

>	swing, does not inflict more force behind the blade, the blade does not
>	have any force to speak of, save the motion it is under. When dueling
>	with another light saber, the blades cannot cut each other so they are
>	reflected.  Now if you swing really hard, it will reflect really hard.
>	The key here is, in a duel, the strength of the blow is not the 
>	importance, but the speed of the swing.  The Force (mystical not 

That's not right.  It is pretty obvious that the harder you hit, the harder
the person will have to parry.  Just look at the Luke and Darth Vader battles.

>	physical) is necessary as a guide for compensating in the motion of 
>	the weapon.  A metal sword has weight to its blade.  Every sword is
>	different, it has its own feel.  All light sabers are identical in
>	motion, except for handle styles and sizes.  Any one can pick up a 
>	light saber, turn it on and start chopping.  Only Jedis can pick up a
>	light saber, turn it on and start dueling.  A MAJOR difference.

Well, I think that two people of the same skill level could duel with
light sabers.  If people can duel with sword, lightsabers should be no 
different, once you get used to the feel.  Of course, a normal person
woudln't be very effective dueling against a Jedi...

And, the lightsaber ISN'T a very effective weapon.  If someone is more than
a few feet away, there is no way that you are going to hit them with the
thing (unless you throw it, but then you've lost your weapon).

Sure the 'saber can deflect blasters (it even deflected the more powerful
speeder bike bolts--pretty impressive!), but against more powerful blasts,
or especially solid objects (a proton torpedo, for example), it isn't
very useful.

If I were confronted with a Jedi with a lightsaber, I'd probably react like
Indian Jones in the Raders of the Lost Ark.  He'd do some fancy moves,
but I'd eventually shoot him.  Or, if I couldn't do it alone, I'd have
a few other people along with me to make sure he got shot.  If everyone shot
at the same time, we'd eventually hit.  If not, I could still run away.

Even Luke used a blaster.  For long ranger, there is nothing better.  I'll
bet that Jedis have pretty good aim, huh?

keith


>		Jester
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.starwars