YouTuber Wins Guinness World Record For Inventing First Working Retractable Lightsaber

YouTuber Alex Burkan has won a Guinness World Record for creating the first working, retractable lightsaber.

Star Wars fans all around the world have been dying for the day that they can wield a Jedi's most feared weapon and it looks like that might not be too far from reality.

The Russian social media star is now internationally credited with building a lightsaber that is pretty close to the real deal.

Alex's lightsaber can produce a one metre-long plasma blade that can reach temperatures of more than 2,800°C.

It's so goddamn hot that it can even cut through steel. It can also attract lightning and other high voltage charges.

He was working on hydrogen generation equipment when he realised he could transfer some of his knowledge into making a lightsaber.

"Every single step during [the] development and building process was a challenge," he explained to Guinness World Records.

"For many years I have collected ideas and spare parts for my lightsaber and power equipment on the internet markets and [from] scrap yards.

"The key component of my lightsaber is an electrolyser. An electrolyser is a device that can generate a huge amount of hydrogen and oxygen and compress the gas to any pressure without a mechanical compressor."

He was already using this electrolyser for his motorbike, however he manipulated it to produce the shape of plasma blade that he needed for his weapon.

Alex managed to get the main components for the lightsaber ready and then he realised he'd need one more part.

"The most challenging job was to squeeze the whole gas distribution system in a lightsaber handle," he recalled.

"It is the starkiller lightsaber from The Force Unleashed game!"

The longtime Star Wars fan went through a lot of trial and error to get his machine up to where it is now, but he admits there's still a long way to go until it's properly ready.

"This is a first prototype so it has lots of limitations," he said.

"It works for only 30 seconds on full power, the hydrogen torch is not as stable as it could be and you can easily see it when it moves. Sometimes the lightsaber just blows up in your hand because of hydrogen flashback."

Alex isn't the first person who has tried or who has won a Guinness World Record for trying to bring the Jedi weapon to life.

However, he is the first inventor who has been recognised for making a plasma-based, retractable lightsaber.

He's hoping he'll be able to tinker with his invention until it can last longer and look closer to the movie version.

Featured Image Credit: Guinness World Records

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