Dropping lightsabers

In the movies when someone drops a lightsaber it turns off, why is this? If it is because there is some kind of device in the saber that detects if it is being held how could Yoda throw his lightsaber into a clone and keep it on?

Originally posted by yodafan
In the movies when someone drops a lightsaber it turns off, why is this? If it is because there is some kind of device in the saber that detects if it is being held how could Yoda throw his lightsaber into a clone and keep it on?

I think it has to deal with pressure sensitivity, aka a device knowing when it is being held. When Yoda throws his, he could have used the force to keep pressure on the activation switch to keep it ignited.

Some sabers have a pressure switch, I'm sure. Yoda could have very well have used the Force to keep it on.

LOL to the previous poster. You just beat me to it.

Originally posted by Ken Kenobi
I think it has to deal with pressure sensitivity, aka a device knowing when it is being held. When Yoda throws his, he could have used the force to keep pressure on the activation switch to keep it ignited.

Damnit I was gonna bring up the Yoda thing, but I noticed you thought ahead.

lol..ken and oswald are brothers 😂

Originally posted by Mist
lol..ken and oswald are brothers 😂

😂

Oswald...Oswald, is that you? Mom has been sad ever since Yoda and Dad put us on two different planets. Hehe, I got to go to Alderaan and become a Prince, you get to clean Moisture Vaporators. 😛

Didnt Vader's lightsaber stay on when he threw it at Luke in ROTJ?

Originally posted by Ken Kenobi
😂

Oswald...Oswald, is that you? Mom has been sad ever since Yoda and Dad put us on two different planets. Hehe, I got to go to Alderaan and become a Prince, you get to clean Moisture Vaporators. 😛

you mean you got to go to alderaan and become a princess 😂 diva

and nah...vaders saber didnt stay on in rotj...it was a trick of the light 😛 the reflection of battle outside caused the hilt to appear to have a red glow...😛

Originally posted by Mist
you mean you got to go to alderaan and become a princess 😂 diva

If that is the case him and Odwald have probably kissed. 😘

Originally posted by Mist
you mean you got to go to alderaan and become a princess 😂 diva

and nah...vaders saber didnt stay on in rotj...it was a trick of the light 😛 the reflection of battle outside caused the hilt to appear to have a red glow...😛

Just for that Princess comment...

I got to go to Alderaan and become King and play with my Lightsaber Spoons.

....ive got your address....the next sound you hear is a fat A-bomb dropping onto your house.......😛

Now now, children...

Another popular theory for lightsabers staying on when dropped is that they flicked the switch another click so that it was 'locked on' and wouldn't shut off when thrown. I stick with that one.

That means you would need to hold the switch all the time? The way lightsaber are thrown from hand to hand and flipped around in battle it seams odd.

I agree about the yoda stabbing the clone tropper at the top of the page. They use the force to keep pressure on it when they throw it (thats just my opinion).

Eh, I dunno, I just liked the switch-lock theory for throwing, not for the actual fighting.

Jedi are freaky like that, they make crazy things to kill people with...

I always wondered about this actually, i always assumed that a saber could (or should) have 2 ways to be activated, 1 is to simply push the button down, then when (or if) it was dropped it would deactivate. the other way is to, after it is activated, to press the switch forward to 'lock' it on, and thus would not deactivate if it were to fall. problem is that Jedi would need to 'lock' it in order to duel, yet in duels it still turns off when it falls....

an interesting predicament i must say...

Of course, all lightsabers were modeled by the individual wielding it. Many had what were known as "Deadman switches" (ie. Kenobi's saber in A New Hope) that would turn off the saber in the event the saber was dropped, in these cases they did also have a lock switch that would allow the saber to be thrown. Some lightsabers did not even have external switches on them and required a measure of ability with the Force to turn and keep them on during a battle.

yes Greg..Hethrir and his students had lightsabers like that. Could only be activated by the Force. I'm sure that's his name anyway..haven't read the Crystal Star for years.

Does anyone else think that the constant dropping/losing/breaking of the lightsabers is symbolic of how out of touch the Jedi really are with the Force? No one drops a lightsaber in the OT.

lol that's because in the OT if you lose one you're in trouble but in PT if you do you just go to Lightsabers R' Us 😛