Fantasy and sci-fi sagas exist galore, and for better or worse they have all given us exciting and compelling moments, giving us the opportunity to take a look at worlds and "technologies" that perhaps in our lifetime we will never see. We saw rebel robots waging war on humans and then going back in time and eliminating uncomfortable rivals, we witnessed talking dragons capable of granting pieces of their hearts to save those who did not deserve it, we were witnesses of magic schools and we saw distant galaxies teeming with life and hi-tech miracles.
All these stories have remained in the heart of each of us, but one in particular has cemented itself in the collective imagination, Star Wars, the most famous space-based fantasy epic of all time, capable of renewing and upsetting every sector with which has had to do: cinema, comics, books, and even video games. Between longtime veterans and the latest generation of levers, a question has always meandered constantly, like a fixed nail without ever diminishing in intensity: "but will those amazing things that I just saw ever come true? Or do they already exist?". Our analysis today will lead us to find out that there is no definitive answer to this question, and that there is need for an analysis that goes case by case, but surprises will certainly not be missing.
Holograms and holograms
throughout Star Wars ennealogy we often saw "holographic video calls", in which the interlocutors could interact through a full-fledged 3D representation. While watching – first many years ago – the first trilogy, we seemed to be witnessing a real instrument of science fiction (just remember that at the release of Star Wars Ep IV – in 1977 – mobile phones had just been invented, they cost over 4000 dollars, and that they were as big as a 24h bag).
However, decades have passed and technology has made great achievements, especially in the field of communication and entertainment, and pushes us today – more than three months after the release of L 'Ascesa Di Skywalker – to ask ourselves if it remained unfeasible or has become a real possibility. All in all we can say "yes, actually no"but joking aside let's see why the answer (perhaps) may not satisfy us fully. Many, both professional laboratory technicians and geek fans, have attempted in the enterprise to recreate a true hologram, and although there have been positive results from they certainly cannot be compared to what Star Wars "taught" us.
The most striking example is of the experiment that took place a few months ago, in November 2019, in the laboratories of theSussex University, where a group of researchers has created a device called MATD (Multimodal Acoustic Trap Display) capable of generating very small holograms, even adding colors (checkmate black and white holograms of Star Wars!). In fact, the invention is indeed far-reaching but still in one embryonic stage: its uses today are scarce and difficult to apply, but this certainly must not make the most avid dreamers despair.
The matD has the extraordinary ability to move a polystyrene ball suspended in the vacuum by using ultrasound; the ball is moved at a speed so high as to compose an image within 0.1 seconds, so as to "deceive" human eyes and make the movement of the ball seem like a constant line.
Although only small figures or numbers can be reproduced, in the future it is possible that the device will be enhanced more accurately making complex and changing images possible. In recent years, telephone companies and major smartphone manufacturers have also pushed for the possibility of making our communications faster and more realistic, and it is no coincidence that one of the objectives that is set by the end of the era 5G (possibly before the launch of the 6G, already under development in Japan) is precisely to make calls and calls possible conferences in 3D.
The technologies therefore seem to be there, you just need to find a way to fine-tune them and merge them into something that can be used quickly. In the meantime, the plans of the Death Star will be better kept – still for a while – in JPG.
Lightsabers
The thing most coveted by any self-respecting fan or nerd is one of the iconic and very famous "elegant and not erratic" weapons of the Jedi Knights, the so-called Lightsabers. Whether they are plastic, plush or ultra-mechanical, they are probably one of the best selling merchandise absolutely in the history of humanity. Yet, when you buy or receive one, you always have the feeling of having to put your heart in peace: none of those that are on the market, however detailed and detailed, can never give even the appearance of a real Lightsaber. Unfortunately, this is a factual reality that we have been living with since the 1970s, and little has served the 43 years of evolution and engineering passed from the first appearance of this weapon on the big screen. Science – for now – is clear: the swords of the Jedi, as we know them, are a simple utopia. The biggest difficulty in building such an arrangement is that of having to basically contain a laser (or at least a plasma) in a shape that resembles a sword, and at the same time make it capable of interacting with the objects that surround it.
If we imagined the sword made of real laser we would have the opportunity to create a very similar one (for example the hilt would be 100% feasible), perhaps equipped with a button that activates the lethal beam if necessary ready to slit the enemies. The problem – as also happens with the high energy lasers used in Physics laboratories all over the world – is to be able to contain this beam, and to prevent it from going to hit "infinitely" in the direction in which it is pointed.
Furthermore, it would be even more complicated to generate high energy lasers capable of repelling each other if they came "in contact" with each other (in short, the duel with the lightsabers would be rather boring and quick without the possibility of parrying), finally without an adequate amount of dust or smoke the laser would be almost invisible to the human eye.
In short, the hopes of seeing a Lightsaber are practically zero in today's world. The only thing that has been able to recreate quite faithfully is what in the Star Wars universe is defined as a prototype of Lightsaber, used about 5000 years before the explosion of the first Death Star: the so-called Protosaber. The youtube channel HackSmith – highly appreciated for his crazy creations and inventions – he managed to recreate one in detail: to make it work it was decided to abandon the idea of the "retractable" sword by simply using the button, and instead to equip it with a "blade" of tungsten covered with ceramic and titanium, bringing it to a temperature over 1600 ° C in no time, making it an extremely dangerous weapon, even for those who wield it. Despite its almost impossible use in a possible battle and a purely goliardic creation, it is still a small success, a must for fans.
Ion propulsion
If you thought there could be hope regarding the feasibility of the Millenium Falcon "hyperlight" engines, unfortunately there is only one to be disappointed: getting on board our shuttles and jumping thousands of light years is for us humans a reality that cannot be realized from all points of view. Perhaps not even in a millennium will we be able to do it, with the exception of some revolutionary discovery that opens up a new era of science (and who does not hope for such news every day). Ergo is trivially useless to stay here to see that the Star Wars ships fly in the galaxy with pure science fiction engines, so we have shifted our attention to another type of vehicle and engine: the TIE fighters and the X-Wing with them "ion propulsion" engines. Although this may seem like a science fiction word that makes sense only in space battles off the Endor Moon, we are actually dealing with one of the most used (and tested) technologies of the last decades, especially in space exploration.
The ion engine was developed already in the late 1950s and after various experimental tests it was successfully used in the probe Deep Space 1, at the end of 1998. Its operation, however, in the real world, presents some complications that make it not so suitable for a starfighter: unlike the classic chemical propulsion (the rockets we all know), the ionic thrust is much less powerful immediately, and it is not very usable in environments in the presence of friction (therefore they are engines that give their best in a vacuum).
Their peculiarity lies in the fact of exercising instead a constant and prolonged push over time, ideal for directing probes in deep space. Their design requires higher costs than the classic chemical rockets, but it is also true that they use much less propellant and the fuel weight hitch would be eliminated.
Their use, therefore, may be ideal not so much to fight or make crazy maneuvers or twists (which is not practicable with almost all the means of propulsion known to us) but rather to act as engines for our future "space taxis". Shuttles that need to travel back and forth over long distances – for example imagine the missions that one day will bring pieces to build terrestrial or orbital bases on Mars – will find great advantage in this type of propulsion as the vehicle's performance will always remain high even in deep space, and in addition the journey should be significantly shorter: it is true that the thrust, as we said before, is less intense than that of a rocket, but it is also true that a discrete propulsion allows higher cruising speeds if you have a long time available (and Mars, as we know, it's not really around the corner).
It is no coincidence that this is exactly what space agencies have been designing and doing for years now with their vehicles. The ionic engine is unlikely to replace the large propulsion rockets – essential for obtaining the escape velocity for space carriers – but more than anything else they will form an increasingly integrated and performing combination ready to take us, in a day not so far away, on new horizons.
Perhaps our generation, and presumably also the future one, will not live long enough to see a double sunset like on Tatooine, but probably during the long journey we will encounter scenarios of equal – if not superior – beauty. May the Force of science be with us.
