The Power Cell
Obviously a lightsaber contains a tremendous amount of energy --
far more than a blaster, for example. Any device that can melt its
way through a three-foot-thick reinforced blast door in a matter of
minutes obviously has access to tremendous energy reserves.
Estimates range as high as several megawatt-hours of stored
energy.
The source of this energy is a diatium power cell -- a device no
larger than a roll of LifeSavers®. Diatium power cells are
available from a variety of military and some civilian
sources.
Surrounding the power cell is a power field conductor and the power
vortex ring. These two devices work in concert with one another to
move the available energy toward the energy gate. The energy gate
controls the flow of energy into the crystal energy chamber.
The Crystal Energy Chamber
Really the heart of any lightsaber, the crystal energy chamber is
responsible for primary energy conversion. At least two crystals
(typically of the Adegan variety) are used in the energy
chamber.
The first crystal is known as the primary crystal. It converts the
energy channeling from the power assembly and then transfers its
output to one or more focusing crystals. The focusing crystals are
held in place by the focusing crystal activator.
The crystal energy chamber is the reason why all lightsabers are
built by hand, and then only in the latter stages of Jedi training.
The builder must align the crystals perfectly or risk detonation of
the lightsaber upon activation. Only through the use of the Force
can the proper alignment be guaranteed.
With several megawatt-hours of energy on tap, detonation is of
course a catastrophic event. For this reason, initial activation is
normally done remotely with an inexpensive droid.
The Energy Channel and Controls
The energy channel is where the actual lightsaber blade is
generated. Energy flowing from the crystal energy chamber is
converted to the arc wave that will become the blade. The arc wave
flows up through the blade energy channel and past the cycling
field energizers. These energizers are responsible for the
gyroscopic effect discussed earlier in the article.
The refined arc wave makes its way to the blade arc tip and from
there becomes visible as the glowing blade of the lightsaber that
is so familiar.
The on/off switch, also known as the activation matrix, as well as
the blade length and power adjustment controls are typically
located near the cycling field energizers. Using these controls,
the lightsaber's owner can tune the blade for specific
applications.
