Q & A's About 'Star Wars': What is the exact science behind Chewbacca's bowcaster? Could we possibly make such a weapon? If such a thing were possible, how devastating would it be?

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The mighty Chewbacca, his bowcaster, and his best friend in the galaxy, Han Solo in a publicity photo from Star Wars © 1977 20th Century Fox Film Corporation 

 What is the exact science behind Chewbacca's bowcaster? Could we possibly make such a weapon? If such a thing were possible, how devastating would it be?

The answers are, in order, as follows:
  1. What is the exact science behind Chewbacca's bowcaster?: There is no real-world science behind the concept of Chewie’s bowcaster, aka “laser crossbow.”
  2. Could we possibly make such a weapon? As a movie prop, yes. That’s what it is, a movie prop. As an honest-to-goodness weapon that fires short bursts of highly coherent energy bolts? No. We can’t make such a weapon.
  3. If such a thing were possible, how devastating would it be? I imagine that if humans were to someday figure out a way to make weapons that work like imaginary ones from a purely fictional story, a laser crossbow would be deadly. Having said that, Star Wars tech is not based on any scientific basis whatsoever. It’s just embroidery on a modern-day myth. Nothing more, nothing less.

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