What is a suitable substance for a Lightsabre crystal?

[Kayle Skolaris]

So anyway, since according to I, Jedi a paste diamond is suitable as a lightsabre crystal for a short time, would it be possible to use a real diamond for the same purpose? Indeed, if one takes I, Jedi seriously, what clear substances CAN'T be used as lightsabre crystals? Are translucent substances suitable for lightsabre crystals? Where's the limit?

[PsiberDragon]

Ok... knee jerk reaction:

I"d say that it'd have to pretty much be a natural crystal - not necessarily naturally MADE mind you, but one that occurs in nature ... so, a diamond would be fine, as would a ruby, emerald, sapphire, etc... but glass and "crystal" (lead crystal glass) would not.

Also, I would generally say that it'd have to be a pretty flawless gem as, in theory, a slight flaw could cause focusing problems.

Also, the crystal would have to at least be translucent or transparent. Opaque gems (like jet, for example) wouldn't allow the passage of light to be focused.

just my thoughts...
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"Love like you will die tomorrow. Hate like you will live forever." - Unknown

[Cool McCool]

The famed MacGuffin crystals work wonders.

Use it as a plot device.
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Still funky after all these years

[Jedi Skyler]

You have two main categories of crystals: those that occur in nature and those that are man-made.

Both have been documented in various places as having been used as the focusing agents for lightsabers. And while yes, it is always preferable to have naturally occurring crystals (and yes, they need to be flawless; in I, Jedi, Corran used a crystal that was flawed, but didn't find out until he tried to use the second phase of his dual-phase lightsaber. The crystal worked fine for normal operations, but couldn't cut it for the increased output of power.

Luke Skywalker synthesized the crystal for his second lightsaber back at Ben's place on Tatooine, where he found not only the instructions for lightsaber creation, but also the instruction (and materials) for synthesizing crystals. IIRC, the process took about a month for him. Now, it's also said that during the Clone Wars, the Jedi honed the process of lightsaber creation down so much that it took only one day to complete, and that a lot of them used synthesized crystals because it was easier to make them in quantity than go find them in quantity.