Do light sabres’ batteries run low easily?

[Heebie]

Something I just noticed while watching the 'holy' trilogy - it just seems to me that, at every given opportunity, Jedis keep switching them off – even during fights.

Why? Does Yoda moan about wasting battery power when they get back home?

 

[Rodders]

Maybe they're switched off so as to not give away their position?

As for running low on batteries, the only thing that i can recall was a brief part in Splinter in the Minds Eye where Luke charges his sabre using a power pack from a blaster.

 

[Heebie]

It could just be me thinking that light sabres are so cool that they should be kept on for as long as possible, just to show off. I guess 'real' Jedis don't think that way.

They probably cost Mr Lucus a few hundred thousand dollars to create the effects for too, which would explain why they keep switching them off.

 

[Doctor Crankenstein]

Maybe it's because they are DANGEROUS AS ALL HELL and you wouldn't want to accidentally cut everything in half...

 

[Heebie]

Maybe it's because they are DANGEROUS AS ALL HELL and you wouldn't want to accidentally cut everything in half...

I'm sure Jedis had to sit through plenty of Health and Safety meetings and fill out Risk Assessment forms before they were issused a lightsabre.

 

[Ursa major]

...or maybe they're forced to switch them off....

*cough*

Seriously, though, Dr Crankenstein is almost certainly correct, from the perspective of the narrative. (Those in charge () of the films' budgets will have had their own ideas.)

 

[C Of K]

Jedi are supposed to use the lightsaber as a last resort.
Just like anything else, when the lightsaber
is not in use, jedi put it away.

I mean, keeping your lightsaber out all the time
is just silly. Could you imagine Anakin spending the
night at Padme's with his lightsaber out all the time?

No. The off switch is a good thing.

 

[southron sword]

Could you imagine Anakin spending the
night at Padme's with his lightsaber out all the time?

If I spent the night at Padme's I'd have my lightsaber out all the time....

P.S. Can I have my display picture back, C of K?

 

[C Of K]

P.S. Can I have my display picture back, C of K?

Sure thing, SS. WE don't...I mean I don't want to confuse anyone

If I spent the night at Padme's I'd have my lightsaber out all the time....

You're right. I'll have to come up with a different example.
Ok. How about when you're going to visit Supreme Chancellor Palpetine in his office? That's a really bad time to have an active lightsaber.

 

[Culhwch]

Guys, I know it's all in good fun, but let's do remember to keep it family-friendly!

 

[Heebie]

Ok. How about when you're going to visit Supreme Chancellor Palpetine in his office? That's a really bad time to have an active lightsaber.

Hmm, I'd have thought Yoda, Mace Windu and those other (deceased) Jedis may disagree with you on that one!

And why would a Jedi turn his lightsabre off at night? It would make an excellent (and highly attractive) reading light, plus it would act as one of those bug zappers and prevent mosquitos biting the midi-cholins out of them

 

[C Of K]

Hmm, I'd have thought Yoda, Mace Windu and those other (deceased) Jedis may disagree with you on that one!

Lol. Of the list of jedi to have made that mistake, Yoda and Anakin are the only two to have survived it.

 

[J-WO]

I'm not buying this Jedi hocus-pocus. If its all the same with you guys, I'll stick with my trusty blaster.

 

[Heebie]

I'm not buying this Jedi hocus-pocus. If its all the same with you guys, I'll stick with my trusty blaster.

Yeah, you do that - you scruffy-looking Nerf-herder

 

[C Of K]

What is it they say about hokey religions, and ancient weapons?

 

[Ursa major]

Possibly: "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

 

[No One]

Okay, not a Star Wars fan here (far far from it) but I have two gripes with the Lightsaber, batteries notwithstanding.

Firstly, I always thought the fighting style is way off. With a weapon of no intrinsic weight and the ability to kill at a stroke, surely lightsabers ought to be wielded in the manner of a foil? Jedi's should be fencing.

Secondly, why the heck is there any sort of limit on how long a lightsaber can be? Seems to me that something like that could be ten, twenty or fifty feet long. How about hundreds of feet, with the ability of decimating entire armies with a flick of the wrist?

 

[Vertigo]

My objection is even more basic than that. In the technological world that is Star Wars why on earth would you fight with such a limited weapon. Surely if attacked by a light sabre wielding Jedi you would just do an Indiana Jones and pull your blaster and blast them away! And I'm sorry I never accepted the idea that they could be so blindingly fast that they can stop multiple blaster shots with a skinny little light sabre. I Always thought that light sabres, whilst nice and romantic, were one of the weakest, least convincing bits of technology in the films.

 

[J-WO]

Yeah, you do that - you scruffy-looking Nerf-herder

Nerf-herder?

<looks around incredulously>

 

[C Of K]

Firstly, I always thought the fighting style is way off. With a weapon of no intrinsic weight and the ability to kill at a stroke, surely lightsabers ought to be wielded in the manner of a foil? Jedi's should be fencing.

In the first silm, Lucas instructed the actors to hold them with two hands, as though the weapon was heavy. Of course, there is no weight, as you mentioned. Since it can cut through anything, I imagine the power output would be quite substantial, and could be unwieldy. A foil, on the otherhand, is quite light weight.

Secondly, why the heck is there any sort of limit on how long a lightsaber can be? Seems to me that something like that could be ten, twenty or fifty feet long. How about hundreds of feet, with the ability of decimating entire armies with a flick of the wrist?

I'm not a stickler on how the technology works, but apparently the lightsaber is a beam of light that extends a certain distance, and then folds back in on itself.

And I'm sorry I never accepted the idea that they could be so blindingly fast that they can stop multiple blaster shots with a skinny little light sabre.

Lucas addressed this in Episode 1. If you watched the beginning of it, you'd notice that they move a lot faster than normal people (Like almost Superman fast) and it's mentioned that they see things before they happen. So you can't judge them by the standards of normal people, because they aren't.