People who think physics is boring, grandiose wrong. She is able to explain everything, from the eerie interactions on a tiny scale of atoms and particles to the behavior of whole universes. And if that’s not enough physics could be used to assess how realistic the technology of the future in science fiction. Martin Arker, a specialist in physics of space plasmas, may explain many of the nuances of the lightsabers and the Death Star in the Universe of “Star wars”, for example.
He is currently working on the evaluation of the realism of Blaster weapons, which was used, among others, Han Solo — and how the blasters can be compared with light swords. Actually, the real version of this weapon have already been developed. Therefore, when the film was released-a prequel about the Solo, it’s time to tell you more about it.
The key to understanding the technology of “Star wars” is plasma, the so — called “fourth state of matter” (in addition to solid, liquid and gaseous). It is a free flowing electrically charged particles that naturally interact with electric and magnetic fields. Plasma is distributed in space, but rare in nature on Earth. However, it is possible to create in the laboratory.
Powerful plasmoids
A common misconception about the blasters is that it’s laser weapon. But the Canon of “Star wars” it wouldn’t make sense. Instead, the authors stated that the Blaster was “any type of long arms that shoot blobs of plasma energy intensive, often mistaken as a laser” and that it turned “an energy-rich gas in a luminous particle beam that could burn goal.” It turns out that clots Blaster (the bullets) is just a drop of plasma, something like a light saber, flying through the air.
A coherent mass of plasma and associated magnetic fields known as plasmoids. Within the protective screen of the Earth — magnetosphere — plasmoids are commonly formed in poorly understood process of magnetic reconnection. This is an explosive reconfiguration of magnetic field lines, which occurs in the presence of plasma, in particular in the place of unification of plasma. When this happens within our magnetosphere, charged particles are accelerated in the direction of the upper atmosphere, creating the Aurora. A huge amount of material ejected from the Earth in the form of plasmoids.
However, to create a plasmoid in the Earth is not so simple. We can demonstrate structures which rapidly expand and dissolve in the air. The solution to this problem is to use the magnets that keep the plasma hot.
However Blaster clots are projectiles, so they should not be supported by magnets outwardly throughout their movement. Fortunately, there is a solution. Since plasma is highly conductive, it is possible to establish an electric current in the plasmoid. This current will generate a magnetic field that holds the plasma. These mechanisms are known as spheromak, and over the last twenty years they have attracted additional interest to the experiments in plasma physics.
The real version
One of the ways to create spheromak — use the “plasma railgun”, a device that uses an external magnet to induce currents in the plasma, and accelerates the projectile to high speeds. Actually spheromak living a few hundred microseconds, allowed to reach the speed of 200 km/s. This is very impressive and definitely allows you to use them as weapons.
In the 1970-ies in the research laboratory of the U.S. air force in Albuquerque, the program was created SHIVA Star (named after the many-armed God in Hinduism), in which was conducted the development of the various branches of practical applications of plasma physics. One of them is a MARAUDER — was the basis of one of several U.S. initiatives on creation of shells on the basis of the plasma.
This weapon was capable of ring in the donut shape of plasma and balls of lightning that exploded with devastating thermal and mechanical effects when hitting the target, creating a pulse of electromagnetic radiation, capable of turning off electronics. But since 1993, the status of these weapons remains uncertain.
Temperature, which was achieved in such devices, a thousand times greater than solar. Having enough plasma, each clot was caused great damage, so the Blaster from “Star wars” looks quite realistic.
But this is a real Blaster weapons could compete with the other iconic weapon of the “Star wars” lightsaber? The bundle Blaster is essentially equivalent to the blade of a lightsaber without a handle. But when restricted to the two magnets meet plasma, magnetic reconnection is inevitable. That is, when the clash of two lightsabers would be born an explosive impact, destroying both weapons and their means of delivery. But with a Blaster you would be far away from the explosion and completely unharmed.
Han Solo’s Blaster exists. And it is much more powerful than a lightsaber!
Ilya Hel