By Chris King • Published: 29 Jan 2022 • 4:21
Russian YouTuber creates world's first fully-functional retractable lightsaber. image: youtube
Russian YouTuber, Alex Burkan, has entered the Guinness Book of World Records because he has created the world’s first retractable lightsaber. This homemade device is very similar to the famous sabers used in fight sequences in the Star Wars films. In addition, it has the ability to produce a metre-long plasma blade when turned on, burning at an intensity of 2,800 degrees, it can even cut through steel. The key component of Burkan’s lightsaber is an electrolyser, a device that can generate a large amount of oxygen and hydrogen, and compress the gas to any pressure without having to employ a mechanical compressor. Burkan is predictably, a massive fan of the Star Wars saga, and in 2013 he thought he could build a sabre that would be similar to the fictional weapons in the movies. The YouTuber explained that the tricky part of the project was making the burner and gas distribution system small enough to fit inside the saber handle. As Burkan states in the video, the device still has some drawbacks, “It only works for 30 seconds at full power. The hydrogen torch is not as stable as it could be, and you can easily see it when it moves. Sometimes the lightsabre just explodes in your hand from the hydrogen recoil”. Problems aside, this lightsabre’s plasma is a stream of ionised particles that can attract lightning and other high-voltage charges. You can see Alex Burkan’s creation in operation in the following YouTube video, as reported by 20minutos.es.
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Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com
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