# Can you light a cigar with a light saber? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 4, 2021, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-light-a-cigar-with-a-light-saber/937185 "2021-03-04T17:28:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-light-a-cigar-with-a-light-saber/937185/21 "2021-03-06T03:53:36Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > That’s what seems to happen to people when you cut off their limbs with light sabers. No blood spurting out, because the light saber neatly seals off all the blood vessels, even major ones. [Notable exception for walrus people.](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/headhuntersholosuite/images/c/cf/Ponda_Baba%27s_arm.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/340?cb=20120430165233) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-light-a-cigar-with-a-light-saber/937185/22 "2021-03-06T04:16:47Z")
The answers from this question on the Science Fiction & Fantasy Stack Exchange show examples of it burning things, albeit usually in a more smoldering sense. But that’s basically what cigars do, so that seems sufficient. > ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-light-a-cigar-with-a-light-saber/937185/23 "2021-03-06T06:03:58Z")
You’d think that if a lightsaber could provide heat, you wouldn’t need to slice open tauntauns to keep warm. ---
**Author:** ![Asylum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/53a042/32.png) [@Asylum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asylum)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-light-a-cigar-with-a-light-saber/937185/25 "2021-03-06T15:13:02Z")
[quote=“Mundane\_Super\_Hero, post:8, topic:937185, full:true”]PS- That’s a cigarette. Cigarette smokers can eff off and die. [/quote] Is that supposed to be a joke? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-light-a-cigar-with-a-light-saber/937185/26 "2021-03-06T17:32:41Z")
Yes, that’s the work I was referring to. It’s annoyingly difficult to post a spoiler for things like that, because there’s no way to indicate what work it’s a spoiler for (since what work it is is what the spoiler is). ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-light-a-cigar-with-a-light-saber/937185/27 "2021-03-06T18:31:56Z")
> [@Asylum](#): > > Is that supposed to be a joke? Yes, sorry. Just a joke. There’s a friendly rivalry between cigar smokers and cigarette smokers, nothing more. ---
**Author:** ![Asylum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/53a042/32.png) [@Asylum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asylum)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-light-a-cigar-with-a-light-saber/937185/28 "2021-03-06T21:18:58Z")
Cool, I’ll put my hackles back down. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2023, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-light-a-cigar-with-a-light-saber/937185/30 "2023-12-11T09:25:12Z")
> [@ZechariahClements](#): > > Those things can get pretty toasty! [![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/06/09/10/29785C6000000578-0-image-a-2_1433842240193.jpg) ](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/06/09/10/29785C6000000578-0-image-a-2_1433842240193.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2023, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-light-a-cigar-with-a-light-saber/937185/31 "2023-12-11T13:04:15Z")
Three years later and we can do things like this! > **[Bing](https://www.bing.com/images/create/realistic-photo-of-an-anthropomorphic-cigar-wieldi/1-657707e9dd61478da4b21a7d1a82c0d2?id=AFJ7rIRCt706dWpSJ%2fba%2bQ%3d%3d&view=detailv2&idpp=genimg&FORM=GCRIDP&mode=overlay)** > > Intelligent search from Bing makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for and rewards you. (Swipe to see all 4 images) ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2023, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-light-a-cigar-with-a-light-saber/937185/32 "2023-12-11T13:33:08Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > I’m guessing no; the saber will obliterate the cigar before it can catch on fire but maybe if you got it really close without quite touching it? Think of this idea as just another reason why smoking is very bad for you. LOL ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2023, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-light-a-cigar-with-a-light-saber/937185/33 "2023-12-11T14:12:19Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > I’m guessing no; the saber will obliterate the cigar before it can catch on fire but maybe if you got it really close without quite touching it? A real lightsaber (if such a thing could exist) would obliterate you if you were close enough to touch a cigarette to it. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2023, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-light-a-cigar-with-a-light-saber/937185/34 "2023-12-11T15:04:17Z")
In Terminus may be, but in Trantor they take such things in stride. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2023, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-light-a-cigar-with-a-light-saber/937185/35 "2023-12-11T15:27:30Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > > [@Deeg](#): > > > > I’m guessing no; the saber will obliterate the cigar before it can catch on fire but maybe if you got it really close without quite touching it? > > A real lightsaber (if such a thing could exist) would obliterate you if you were close enough to touch a cigarette to it. Would it? The centre of the plasma jet is obviously pretty hot, but the temperature quickly falls off in the radial direction [![](https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/htmp-2015-0077/asset/graphic/htmp-2015-0077_figure4.jpg) ](https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/htmp-2015-0077/asset/graphic/htmp-2015-0077_figure4.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2023, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-light-a-cigar-with-a-light-saber/937185/36 "2023-12-11T15:32:58Z")
A 15,000+ degree, three foot long plasma torch (of sorts) and you want to get about 3 inches from it with your cigarette? Yeah…I think you’d get burned. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-light-a-cigar-with-a-light-saber/937185.md?page=1)