Now that I think about it how do Lightsabers stop the beam when they are activated? What we definitely need is for Lucass to film a 5 minutes monologue of Kenobi explaining the tech to us for the 3D edition of Star Wars.

"This was the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster. An elegant weapon...for a more civilized age. You see Luke, the power-cell emits an energy beam that is focused via either a natural or synthetic crystal..."

Much better. Then I can sleep at night. After I rub one out.