Idea for a new Blade design

[mick6150]

OK, Solid aerogels are back on the table! found a video of a piece being dropped from 3 feet. No issues, no shattering, and no deformation! I think it could be a central core for a blade.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHnen2nSmDY

I'm new to posting so forgive me if i screw up along the way.

[Sunrider]

Cool video but the only reason it bounced & didn't break is that it weighs nothing. When you see the guy break a piece in half you can see how it would shatter inside a blade on first impact. 2000 bucks in 2000 nano seconds.

[TimeRender]

I know nothing about the durability of aerogel, but there are OTHER reasons it wouldn't work, as I pointed out before. The plain truth is that there is a reason the community has used EL wire, single LEDs with hollow diffused blades, and LED ladders rather than using laser technology. Still, if you were interested in making a narrow blade I would be very interested in seeing your results. Your idea is at very least plausible and worthy of some experimentation.

[Rhyen Skytracker]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHnen...eature=related

[Matt Thorn]

Hey, I'm just grateful to mick6150 for bringing aerogel to my attention. I had never heard of it before. Practical for sabers or not, it is way cool. Every photo I found of the stuff looks like a computer graphic! I'd love to see it in person, close up.

I've seen wackier things suggested in the "New technology discussion" section, and I think that's just what the section should be: a place for people to toss out any kind of idea at all, regardless of practicality. If it's cool and (fairly) new, it's okay with me.

My favorite idea so far is the "three-dimensional images in the air" technology developed at Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He2QTpelAjE

Of course, the hardware needed to project this is probably the size of a Hummer and requires a few kilowatts of electricity.

[Skottsaber]

single LEDs with hollow diffused blades,

Speed of light through air: 299 704 644.53915 metres per second
(0°C and 1 Atmosphere)

Speed of light through sillica glass (the closest I could come to a firgure for aerogel)
205 618 969.82167354 metres per second

Thats a difference of 94085674.717476457 metres per second.

I'm not saying that it will make a difference, but it does prove that while having a solid blade may give you more diffusion, but its overkill. Because we are only looking at the OUTSIDE of the blade. And the more thats in the blade the more 'stuff' there is to get in the way of light.

[TimeRender]

What does the speed of light have to do with anything Scott? The reason we need our blades to be hollow is so that nothing interferes with the light until it reaches the end of the blade. It keeps the blades evenly illuminated. The truth is, you CAN have a solid blade as long as the material does not diffuse the light. You would just need to rough up the outside to diffuse the light.

[Shadar Al'Niende]

just look at the clear cane that Sidd made. Proves this concept nicely