Plasma

"Take a moment and look around this glorious city of yours. It wasn't long ago this was all plasma mines."

- Sheev Palpatine

Plasma was a state of matter with unique electromagnetic properties. It was naturally present in the porous crust of Naboo, a pastoral planet located near the border of the Outer Rim Territories. Both the native Gungans and the Human colonists of Naboo mined plasma from their homeworld's depths. The city of Theed itself, capital of the Nabooan Humans, had once hosted many plasma mines.

Refined plasma was often used in technology. The blades of lightsabers, the signature weapons of the Jedi Knights, were made of pure plasmic energy. At the time of the Clone Wars, many weapons of Umbaran make, including the MHC tank and the hover tank, made use of plasma-based technologies. Thanks to its electromagnetic plasma cannon, the latter could decimate entire platoons of enemy soldiers with one blast. Plasma could also be projected over a chasm to form a drawbridge capable of sustaining the weight of people, ground vehicles and landspeeders.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace