The lightsaber needs no introduction. It is one of the most fascinating weapons in science fiction and, at the same time, one of the most absurd, because it combines extreme danger with practically impossible energy consumption. Still, that doesn't stop us from dreaming of designs that get a little closer, which is how we arrive at The Hacksmith channel, where they created a "protosaber", an ancestral version of the lightsaber that used an external energy source.
In the latest official Star Wars video game, "Star Wars: Fallen Order", the Padawan Cal Kestis can modify the configuration of his lightsaber. One of the options comes with installing a second emitter, giving rise to a dual lightsaber, "Darth Maul style". Now, an inevitable question when studying Cal's movements is... how many times does he cut his leg with the saber?
This brings us to one of the essential problems of the lightsaber in real life: it is very dangerous for its user. On the other hand, its energy consumption is outrageous, equivalent to a constant lightning bolt, stored in its hilt. The canon resolves this with kyber crystals (a hybrid between an energy source, an amplifier, and a room-temperature superconductor linked to the Force), but on The Hacksmith channel they have to cheat a little. So it is: one of their latest projects (sponsored by EA) was to create a real lightsaber, capable of cutting almost anything in its path.
In reality, everyone involved decided to follow the path of the protosaber, an ancient version (now relegated to the Legends version of the Star Wars universe) of the lightsaber, which uses an external power pack and an umbilical cord connecting to the hilt. The pack is made up of a total of 192 18650 batteries in a series and parallel configuration. In short, about 20 volts at 1,000 amps, or 20,000 watts. Building the power pack isn't that complicated, but keeping the rest of the electronics from going up in flames is another story.
The first version of the protosaber ended up damaged, so they had to build a new "blade" of tungsten and titanium. It would have been great if they had paused a bit on that step, but if you need more details, you just have to watch their previous videos. The idea of building a lightsaber is not new for The Hacksmith, and it goes back at least to January 2018. Using only titanium, they discovered that the blade deforms, while tungsten smokes too much. The solution was to combine a titanium rod with a tungsten core.
And as usual, the web's response was mixed. Some were fascinated by the project, and others say it is basically an extreme version of a tin soldering iron. Want to see more of The Hacksmith? It's not easy to forget their projects with exoskeletons and jet engines, as well as their version of Wolverine's claws and QWOP in real life.
