A beacon as strong as a nuclear power plant? Science responds with a scene from Star Wars

Capable of deflecting blaster fire, splitting a battle droid in half, or severing a vampa’s arm, the lightsaber is undoubtedly the ultimate weapon in the Star Wars saga. It’s been more than 45 years since the famous sword of the Jedi Knights on the big screen has amazed several generations of viewers.

But what does the power of a lightsaber correspond to? Is this data scientifically validated and quantifiable? According to three university students who asked themselves a question about a TikTok account order of magnitudeThe answer is yes!

Indeed, after doing some physics calculations based on the sequence of the first episode of The Phantom Menace, the prelogue, one of these students estimated that the power of the lightsaber would correspond to about 500 megawatts, or roughly the equivalent of 50 TGVs, or half a core. Electric Station.

The easiest way to understand how he came to this conclusion is to watch this student’s video (see above). As he explains, he based his reasoning on a specific sequence that occurs early in the film when Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi are attacked by Trade Federation droids.

Even though the two are trapped behind the armor, the Jedi Master raises his lightsaber and slams his blade into the metal of the door, which finally gives way after a few seconds.

By carefully observing the scene, the scientist was able to determine that the size of Qui-Gon’s knife, and therefore the thickness of the door, was about 80 centimeters. Taking into account the duration of the fusion, the temperature (over 3000°C, given its color) and the estimated volume of heated metal, he thus arrived at the figure stated above.

What do you think of this reasoning?

(Re)discover all the hidden details of ‘The Phantom Menace’…