When watching Star Wars, it’s easy to notice that heroes and villains frequently fire their blasters without apparent concern for running out of ammo.
However, like the devices we use every day that need charging, blasters in Star Wars also require recharging or refilling.
Let’s explore how these iconic space weapons operate and whether they can run out of juice during a battle.
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What Powers a Blaster?
Blasters primarily use two components to shoot those bright, zappy bolts: gas cartridges and power cells.
Gas Cartridges
Functioning much like a gas tank in a car, these cartridges provide the fuel for each shot.
For instance, a standard blaster’s gas cartridge supports up to 500 shots.
Imagine Han Solo, with his DL-44 heavy blaster pistol, meticulously counting his shots as he battles Stormtroopers.
Power Cells
Similar to the battery in your smartphone, these cells deliver the necessary energy to ignite the gas into a plasma bolt.
Most blasters can fire approximately 100 shots before their power cells need recharging.
What Happens When You Use a Blaster a Lot?
Continuous use of a blaster, especially in intense battle scenarios, can lead to mechanical issues such as overheating.
If a blaster is fired repeatedly without pause, it can become too hot to handle and may temporarily malfunction—similar to a smartphone overheating during extended use.
This could be problematic during a critical moment in a battle, such as the intense firefights on the ice planet Hoth.
Do They Ever Actually Run Out?
While the Star Wars films and series often overlook the practical need to reload during combat for dramatic effect, blasters indeed have finite ammunition capacities.
Blasters can run out of shots if their gas cartridges and power cells are not replaced or recharged.
Although rarely shown, this is a genuine concern for anyone relying on these weapons.
Imagine a scenario where Han Solo needs to pause and reload while seeking cover, hurriedly swapping out power cells to stay in the fight.
Understanding Blaster Technology
Two Types of Star Wars Blasters
From a physics perspective, there could potentially be two kinds of blasters in Star Wars: plasma and laser weapons. The movies do not specify, but it seems very likely that heroes and villains alike use plasma blasters.
In our world, plasma is the fourth state of matter. It behaves like a gas, but is electrically conductive and produces magnetic fields and electric currents. It flares out from stars and is used in some lights and televisions.
The Star Wars universe likewise defines plasma as “a state of matter with unique electromagnetic properties”, but associates plasma with the planet Naboo where it was mined.
Further, plasma blasters use Tibanna Gas, a substance that is located in Cloud City. This gas is compressed in the chamber of the weapon, becomes energized, and is then shot outward in the form of a plasma bolt.
Because this type of weapon is affected by electrical fields, plasma blasters tend to be less accurate. Hence, stormtroopers who notoriously miss their targets are using this type of blaster.
Laser weapons, on the other hand, work in the way that laser beams do in our world. When electrons in gasses absorb energy from an electrical current, they bounce around inside an atom. This electron activity increases the temperature of the light being emitted.
So, laser blasters could channel this energy into a form of a beam that is shot at an opponent. However, it seems that laser blasters would not actually work since the bolt fired would be too slow.
Also, the bolt would need to be a steady beam, which we do not see in the movies. We see discrete chunks of plasma-like energy shot from blasters.
Variety of Blasters
Star Wars movies reflect a range of blaster weapons. These include pistols, rifles, and cannons.
Some weapons operate a little differently. Chewbacca, for example, uses a unique Bowcaster weapon that shoots metal projectiles surrounded by energy in a very similar way to blaster bolts.
Some weapons also are more powerful. The disruptor weapon used by Boba Fett is powerful enough to disintegrate a human.
There are also a range of colors to blaster bolts, or blobs of plasma. The colors derive from the type of gas used in the blaster.
The most common color is red, which is made from a relatively cheaper gas. The Rebels, Empire, and First Order all use red blaster bolts. The Galactic Republic and Resistance use blue, presumably also more affordable.
In contrast, Naboo Security Forces and the Starfighter Corps use the color green, reflecting a more powerful and expensive type of gas.
Nonetheless, any color of blaster bolt tends to function about the same. And, all blaster bolts can be absorbed or deflected by a variety of means.
For example, General Grievous’ spaceship uses a ray shield that absorbs blaster bolts. The Millenium Falcon and other Rebel spacecraft also have deflector shields.
Todd Wahlstrom is a creative and analytical freelance writer and life-long Star Wars fan. He has covered such topics as Darth Vader, the Jedi, Boba Fett, and AT-AT Walkers. Todd has published a non-fiction book, holds a Ph.D. in history, and enjoys hiking, running, and reading about science.