Star Wars boffin creates ‘purple cannon fire’ in real world experiment
As galactic imaginings go, the technology in Star Wars would seem to be light years beyond the reach of humble Earthlings.
Professor Alex Baker, however, has The Force — or at least the weight of science — on his side as he uses the sci-fi odyssey to explore some explosive real-world chemistry.
A fan of the motion pictures since he was a child, the self-confessed nerd is exploring the Earthly dimensions of science from a world far, far away.
This includes diving into what may underpin the freezing of Han Solo, the colours of lightsabers and the reactions that power star ships.
The common elements found in the Star Wars realm, Professor Baker notes, are also exploited for their explosiveness and combustibility here on Earth.
He has demonstrated how the elements are used in a series of hands-on experiments, which he will showcase in a talk at The Royal Institution in Westminster this evening.
The award-winning chemist is sharing his interest on May 4, an informal day celebrating the media franchise created by filmmaker George Lucas in 1977.
This year also marks the 25th anniversary of The Phantom Menace, with the blockbuster returning to select theatres across the US, UK and Europe.
Ahead of the talk, Prof Baker told Metro.co.uk: ‘I’ve been in love with Star Wars since watching my dad’s VHS tapes of the original trilogy.
‘I’ve always thought the amazing technology and science is really cool and as a kid I hoped and imagined that it would be possible one day.
‘In particular, I’ve always loved lightsabers as they combine some pretty clever technology, although this is not currently possible and pretty far removed from one I had as a kid, which was made out of flimsy plastic.
‘The Han Solo carbonite freezing plotline is the most inspiring idea that has real-world possibilities.
‘The ability to freeze blood, cells or organs for longer and at lower temperatures, which colleagues and I have conducted research into, is a technology that we really need here and now to solve problems like the crisis in organ donation.
‘I still hope that one day science fiction will become science fact, and I have often found that scientists have a funny habit of making the previously impossible, possible.’
Prof Baker, of the University of Warwick, has broken the galactic science down into key areas.
Oxygen and hydrogen
According to Prof Baker, the Star Wars galaxy, like our own, uses liquid oxygen in rocket engines.
‘By igniting fuels with oxygen in the engine of a rocket you can produce huge amounts of thrust,’ he said.
‘This is demonstrated in a “purple cannon fire” reaction that produces oxygen as a product.
‘The oxygen formed then catches light as it passes through a flame.
‘You can see the incredible violence caused by the burning of just a small amount of oxygen gas and fuel.’
Sodium
A common element found in our own world, sodium is used as a fuel in the Star Wars universe.
‘Sodium reacts with water to produce hydrogen gas, often leading to an explosion,’ said Prof Baker.
On Earth sodium has other uses too, for example in some nuclear reactors to transfer the heat generated from the nuclear reactor to turbines that produce electricity.
Nitric acid
Chemicals containing nitrogen are also fundamental to warfare in the universe created by George Lucas, suggests Prof Baker.
‘Baradium nitrate can be found in every imperial stormtrooper’s kit, in their thermal detonators, and also as star ship fuel,’ he said.
While baradium is fictional, nitrates and other nitrogen-containing compounds are found in our own galaxy in explosives such as TNT or in rocket fuels – particularly those produced by Soviet scientists.
As demonstrated by Prof Baker, the reaction of nitric acid with nitrogen-containing compounds has incredibly violent results.
Cryogens
While cryogens might sound other-worldly, they are used on Earth in freezing. For example, liquid nitrogen and solid carbon dioxide are common examples of cryogens which can be used to freeze objects, such as human eggs in IVF treatment.
Prof Baker suggests that compounds like this could have inspired the freezing of Han Solo – a famous scene in the Star Wars saga.
Lightsabers
Prof Baker also reproduces the bright colours of lightsabers by flame test experiments – a staple in most school chemistry classes – which show how different elements produce different colours when heated.
‘Elements commonly found in salts are used in these flame tests,’ he said.
‘They’re responsible for the colours in fireworks, so the Star Wars universe could use similar science in lightsabers.
‘The colours are created when the elements are heated, causing them to release light in different colours, from bright blues to deep reds.
‘The atoms of these elements house even smaller, negatively charged electrons.
‘When these elements are heated, such as by someone lighting a firework with a flame, the electrons become “excited”.
‘This means they have increased energy resulting in them jumping from their original location, known as a “ground state”, to another “excited state” location within the atom.
‘As electrons drop back down from their excited state, they release the energy they initially absorbed – in the form of heat and light.
‘What is particularly interesting is each electron drop, and the release of light, is unique to each element.
‘Atomically, bright blue and violet lights are highly energetic, the electrons have “dropped” a relatively long distance, albeit in tiny subatomic scales.
‘Red light is less energetic, dropping shorter distances. This means that a Jedi’s blue lightsaber is higher energy than a Sith’s red lightsaber.’
In the movie franchise, science, technology and the human endeavour in the respective fields form a backdrop to the universe’s development.
As frontier as Prof Baker’s explorations are, he still has a way to go to match Galen Walton Erso — the scientist who played a pivotal role in creating the Death Star and its capability to destroy entire planets.
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Find out more about prof Baker’s Royal Institution lecture here
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