I’ve got a lot of fake Star Wars stuff to throw away. It’s time to get real.
“Science and Star Wars,” a 10-episode special created in partnership with IBM, kicked off on Facebook this week and fans of the iconic sci-fi film series can tune in to discover that real world science and technology are catching up to what was created in a galaxy far, far away.
“Over the last 40 years, many scientists, by their own admission, have been influenced by Star Wars,” said Mickey Capoferri, Lucasfilm’s senior director of programming and executive producer of “Science and Star Wars.” “It has made them want to get into these fields and advance technology out of pure curiosity, and probably a feeling that, ‘Hey, this can be real. We aren’t far off.’ That’s what we want to investigate in ‘Science and Star Wars.’ How close are we to Star Wars or Star Wars-esque technology in the real world? What progress has been made and is being made?”
The show, which is billed as an ad for IBM, is from Disney Digital Network and Lucasfilm and will explore everything from droids to speeders to blasters, and delve into the technology with IBM researchers and scientists. It is hosted by Anthony Carboni, of “The Star Wars Show,” and the first episode deals with “an elegant weapon for a more civilized age” — lightsabers!
While that video aspect is clearly tailored toward mobile video watchers, the show will be coming to YouTube on Thursdays.
Carboni explains that the closest thing in the real world to lightsaber technology right now is plasma, and you’ll need a plasma arc welder (8,000-degree temperature) to get your Jedi on. Or access to a very high-tech laser out of Zurich, Switzerland.
Watch the episode to see how Carboni and actor Taylor Gray of “Star Wars Rebels” actually wield a powerful version of the weapon to cut through a steel plate.
