Remember Allen Pan? He was the electrical engineer who was able to create a real, working version of Mjölnir that only he could lift, similar to the lore surrounding Thor's hammer and as seen in the Marvel movies and comics.
Pan created his Mjölnir by attaching microwave oven transformer electromagnets to the hammer's head. These electromagnets hold the hammer in place when on a metal surface, making it impossible to lift. However, Pan fitted the hammer's handle with a fingerprint sensor, and when it reads his fingerprints on the handle, the electromagnets shut off and allow him to lift it. Genius.
Pan is back, and this time, he jumps from the Marvel universe into Star Wars to create a working lightsaber.
The lightsaber that Pan created features a crackling blade, and is capable of burning things. The hilt of the lightsaber contains a combination of chemicals and technology, such as nichrome ignition found in model rockets, a 3D printed compartment containing a syringe valve and an acetone-methanol mixture that serves as the lightsaber's power source.
Pan then loaded the lightsaber with butane, commonly found in lighters, to serve as the propellant, and even fitted a sound system with a button that can be pressed to emit sound effects of lightsabers.
The engineer said he drew inspiration for the working lightsaber from the Tesla Down Under blog and a post on creating small flamethrowers using only a butane torch, a needle and some tubing. As such, the lightsaber Pan created is actually a small flamethrower that has focused fire to look like a blade.
The lightsaber looks amazing in the dark with its blue hue, but Pan also tried creating different colors and was able to make the lightsaber green by using boric acid. However, the lightsaber does not look perfect, as the blade is thin and wavy. Pan also cautioned other people to be careful if they were to try their hands on creating such a lightsaber, as the engineer said that the lightsaber was scary while testing it. It is indeed a dangerous device, and should be created and used with caution.
The video Pan posted on YouTube on his demonstration of the working lightsaber shows a giddy engineer trying out his gadget against Stormtrooper-decorated balloons and Jar Jar Binks.
