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technology - Do (weaponized) lasers exist in the Star Wars universe?


Lightsabers are not made of light, nor have they anything to do with lasers (even if there are people who mistakenly refer to them as "laser swords").


Blaster bolts are also not lasers. They travel significantly slower than light, they travel even slower than ordinary bullets fired by gunpowder. (called slug throwers on the Star Wars universe)


Was there any use of lasers ever presented in the Star Wars universe, either as we use them today, or as weapons?



By laser I mean something which behaves like laser does, even if it's not called by that name in a movie or book. If something is called a laser (in the script or by fans) but clearly doesn't work like a laser (for example, it travels slowly, and in visible blocks) it doesn't count.



Answer



If a character in the Star Wars universe says laser, you can safely assume they don't actually mean lasers. However, there is one Expanded Universe reference that explicitly refers to the weaponizing of lasers.


Does it count? Maybe.


In the EU novel Junior Jedi Knights: Vader's Fortress R2-D2 uses a mirror to reflect lasers. They explicitly made a point that they were lasers and not blasters, which is why the mirror worked.



Without warning, bright steaks of laser fire crisscrossed the courtyard.


...


"Blaster bolts!" Uldir yelped in his ear.


"Yeah, that's exactly what my brother Jacen always says," Anakin muttered. "Only this time they're lasers, not blasters."



...


Laser bolts continued to streak across the entry hall and through the doorway.


...


"Do you think you can use that little mirror gadget that Uncle Luke installed in your head to deflect some of the laser bolts back so that one of us can get in and disable the lasers?"


"But that little mirror can't protect Artoo from blaster bolts," Tahiri objected. Her bright green eyes were wide with alarm.


"That's true," Anakin said. "But these are lasers. Lasers are just concentrated light. A mirror can deflect laser beams. Artoo should be fine-as long as he doesn't get shot."


Before Anakin could say any more, ArtooDetoo beeped once again and rolled into action. Laser blasts shot toward the little droid as he trundled into the huge entry area. He reflected the first and second bolts back in the direction of the lasers that had shot them. To Anakin's surprise, one of the deflected blasts struck the laser that had fired it. The laser exploded with muffled sizzles and thumps. Artoo moved forward and caught the third bolt on his reflector as well.



There's a strong argument to be made that they still aren't behaving like actual lasers. Tahiri confuses the lasers for blasters. From their description, they seem to behave exactly blasters except for being reflected. They're definitely visible and probably slow.


The authorial intent was clearly that these were actual laser weapons. But they ended up getting the behavior wrong. This can't be explained away as lasers simply being an incorrect colloquial term. Anakin describes them concentrated light. They are different enough from blasters that Anakin can identify them as lasers immediately. Which also means they are common enough that Anakin has seen laser weapons before.



So where does that leave us? I'm inclined to go with authorial intent but I think we're stuck firmly in the realm of maybe here.


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