

Science trumps the Force to create a real-life lightsaber - jonbaer
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57604823-1/science-trumps-the-force-to-create-a-real-life-lightsaber/

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beloch
On the one hand, I'm happy whenever people get excited about physics. On the
other hand, I hate it when they get excited because somebody said "Star Wars"
and completely fail to see why an experiment is actually cool. This experiment
will _never_ lead to light-sabers. I'm sorry geeks, but it won't. It's still
damned cool.

Just like you can build classical computers with many different things
representing bits, from photons to electrons to mechanical levers, it is
theoretically possible to build quantum computers with qubits made out of many
different things. Photons have many tremendous advantages over most other
things people have thought of, but some huge weaknesses. One of them is that
it's very hard to get photons to interact with each other. If you can't make
qubits interact with each other then you can't build a logic gate. That means
you're humped. Strong photon-photon interaction is one of the holy grails of
photonic quantum computing. It's _huge_ (if indeed the interaction in this
paper can be made strong and there isn't huge loss involved).

So, screw you cnet and screw your lightsabers. I love Star Wars as much as the
next guy, but you've done the science a huge disservice by completely failing
to explain why it's significant and geeking out over space opera that has
about as much relevance to it as a flaming rodent of unusual size!

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raldi
The headline isn't even accurate _within the Star Wars universe:_ lightsabers
aren't powered by the Force. They're just a piece of technology. That's why
Han Solo can use Luke's on Hoth.

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dromidas
How did people ever get confused to the point where they think the Force has
anything to do with the operation of light sabers? I've heard people say the
Force activates it, shapes it, whatever. It's just tech. You only need the
force to safely wield it. It is massless and saber against saber strikes cause
intense backlash that you otherwise can't control. And of course you need the
Force to block blaster bolts and stuff. Although in traditional pen and paper
star wars you need the force to just swing a lightsaber safely. Non force
sensitive users have a percentage chance to remove a limb :P

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kylemaxwell
As much as the science behind this is interesting, the writing / explanation
here is a little bit juvenile. I guess the writer wanted to trump the already-
Star-Wars-ed explanation on phys.org[1]. There has to be a better intermediate
explanation between these and the actual paper itself.

[1]: [http://phys.org/news/2013-09-scientists-never-before-
seen.ht...](http://phys.org/news/2013-09-scientists-never-before-seen.html)

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davidsd
Note that this lightsaber would require the user (and his/her opponent) to be
submerged in supercooled Rubidium.

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archgoon
True, but theoretically we could construct an energy field that surrounds the
user, his opponent, and all other living things.

Just don't try and fight drones.

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pjungwir
An energy field that binds the galaxy together!

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krapp
Simple tricks and nonsense.

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rquantz
Luminous beings are we! Not this crude matter.

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dylangs1030
No mystical energy field controls _my_ destiny.

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jinushaun
Quantum bromance? Wow, this really is pop science.

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bgroins
"It's not an in-apt analogy to compare this to lightsabers," said Harvard
Professor of Physics Mikhail Lukin in a news release.

Yeah, but let's just write the article that way anyway.

"Science trumps the Force to create a real-life lightsaber"

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edwardy20
inapt - not apt

Not an in-apt analogy == an apt analogy

So the article didn't misconstrue the professor's quote.

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coldcode
I've always assumed that we still barely understand much of the physics of the
universe. Every time people think they have figured it all out the universe
laughs and doles out something new. It's not much of a lightsaber but making
molecules out of photons is way cool.

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chm
Criminally inane reporting.

Edit: I am offended. Never have I read such a condescending article.

