Ever since the Star Wars movies started coming out, it has been the lightsaber that has captivated the audience. Of course, there was much more to the movie to be enjoyed but the thought of having a lightsaber of our own has always been of interest to us.
It seems as if that possibility may not be all that far-fetched, and a Russian YouTuber, Alex Burkan, may have already have developed it. In fact, he has been recognized by the Guinness World Records as creating the first lightsaber that actually retracts!
The lightsaber is obviously inspired by the Star Wars movies but the 3.28-foot plasma blade is what really captures our attention. According to an interview with the YouTube artist, it can reach up to 5072°F.
The Guinness book of records even says that the blade can cut through steel!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CY_8Plbou4b/
As far as Burkan is concerned, it has always been a dream of his because he has been a lifelong Star Wars fan. He calls the lightsaber his “most wanted gadget.”
It seems as if he has been working on the lightsaber since 2013. He got his start researching with hydrogen generation equipment and at that point, he knew that a lightsaber may be within his grasp. That doesn’t mean that it was all easy to do.
He said that each step in the development was a challenge and it took him years to collect the spare parts and come up with the ideas that would make the lightsaber a reality.
He said: “Plasma is a stream of high ironized particles so this lightsaber can also attract lightning and other high voltage charges. The most awesome thing this gadget can do is give you a true feeling of a real lightsaber in your hand.”
He considers this to be the prototype and will continue to work on it because it has some limitations. At full power, it only works for about 30 seconds and the blade is not as stable as he would like. Sometimes, he says that due to hydrogen flashback, the saber simply blows up in your hand.
Maybe I’ll wait for some improvements before I buy one for myself.