A Star Wars Study Proved That One Lightsaber Color Is Weaker Than The Rest

Lightsabers are a part of the DNA of "Star Wars," with them igniting for the first time in the franchise's first entry in 1977. In the decades since then, fans have seen heroes and villains alike use them to meet various ends. Fans have also seen how far these weapons have come since the very first lightsaber in "Star Wars" history, and how unique they can be. Different hilts, attachments, and, of course, blade colors have popped up throughout the saga, with some characters changing their lightsaber for one reason or another. While, functionally speaking, most lightsabers operate in the same way, the fact of the matter is that not all blade colors are created equal. One is simply weaker than the rest.

According to a study conducted by Luke Willcocks from the Centre for Interdisciplinary Science at the University of Leicester, not all lightsabers burn at the same temperature. The wavelengths of the color spectrum vary, so some hues burn measurably hotter than others. Using the scene from "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace" where Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) burns through a door with his green lightsaber, Willocks determined that shade would theoretically burn at 6.96 megawatts, melting the door in approximately 11 seconds. Using that as a reference point, he then determined that red would be the weakest at 14 seconds while purple would be the strongest at 8.2 seconds.

Though in the realm of real-world science, red lightsabers are the weakest of the bunch, in the "Star Wars" universe, red blades are no joke.

In the "Star Wars" galaxy, there's no such thing as a non-dangerous lightsaber. The blue one held by Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) is just as life-threatening as the purple one wielded by Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) on the battlefield. It hasn't been established in canon that any burn hotter or are more or less capable of bodily harm than others. At the same time, even though they don't come out as the most powerful based on real-world science, in the galaxy far, far away, red lightsabers aren't to be trifled with.

Red lightsabers are traditionally the weapons of the Sith, who, unlike the majority of Jedi, have no qualms about hacking up those in the way of their goals. The likes of Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid), Darth Maul (Ray Park), and, perhaps most notably, Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) — the killer of countless Rebels and Imperials alike with his crimson weapon of choice — use their deep red blades to strike terror into the hearts of their enemies before swiftly destroying them. Kylo Ren's (Adam Driver) red lightsaber, which means more than you think, is especially intimidating with its crackling, unstable blade and the recklessness of its user.

Yes, in a real-world sense, red lightsabers are the weakest of them all in terms of temperature. However, in the "Star Wars" universe, where science is thrown out the window and those wielding them are eager to slash through their enemies, it's wise to avoid them altogether.