Post by Plo Strax-Avix on Sept 24, 2005 6:17:17 GMT -5
This could explain how the lightsaber blade CAN be a plasma plume and still emmit little or no heat...
"The key to keeping the plasma pencil cool is its kilovolt electric field, which switches on and off thousands of times a second. This kicks the light electrons into high speeds, while the heavier ions are too weighty to be moved much by each zap of voltage. "It gives the electrons a lot of energy very quickly," says Laroussi.
Because electrons are so light, they impart very little heat energy to the material they crash into. "You get this plasma where the electrons are very hot, but the gas is very cool," explains plasma physicist Bill Graham of Queen's University, Belfast."
This opens up a whole new debate for what lightsaber blade really is...
"The key to keeping the plasma pencil cool is its kilovolt electric field, which switches on and off thousands of times a second. This kicks the light electrons into high speeds, while the heavier ions are too weighty to be moved much by each zap of voltage. "It gives the electrons a lot of energy very quickly," says Laroussi.
Because electrons are so light, they impart very little heat energy to the material they crash into. "You get this plasma where the electrons are very hot, but the gas is very cool," explains plasma physicist Bill Graham of Queen's University, Belfast."
This opens up a whole new debate for what lightsaber blade really is...
