Glossary

A brief glossary of terms:

Darkside of the Force: The Darkside is Force is harnessed by the Sith. It is characterized by dark emotions, such as anger, fear, aggression, and hate. The Darkside is presumably a force for chaos and disorder.

Durasteel: a remarkably hard and durable alloy used for a variety of purposes where strength is of the essence. It is often used in the construction of starship armor as well as the frames for the megaskyscapers, such as those found on Courscant.


The Force: The Jedi describe the Force as an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds and penetrates everything, binding the galaxy together. Some scientist believe the force may be an invisible energy field, like gravity or elctromagnetism, that is responsible for both the expansion of the universe and the attractive stability of solar systems (part of which cannot be explained by gravity). However, this dual nature undermines the theory for others, thus it is not often pursued in the scientific field. The Force forms the basis for the Jedi and Sith religion. The dual nature for them is described by the light and darkside of the Force. Regardless, of who is correct, the Force is clearly a type of energy of unknown power that can be harnessed for good or great evil.

Force sensitive: The ability for an individual or species to tap into the power of the Force and utilize or control that power to varying degrees. It may also describes one's ability to sense things through the energy field of the Force. All Jedi and Sith consist of force sensitive individuals. It is still a mystery why a small minority have been gifted with this ability while most others have not. Also certain non-sentient species have presumably evolved to utilize the force to a lesser extent as it benefits their survival.

Golem: An animated anthropomorphic being whose spirit is bound to otherwise inanimate matter.

Hyperdrive: The engine inside starships that allowed them to travel through hyperspace and, thus faster than the speed of light.

Hyperspace: An extra spatial dimension in which everything travels faster than light and thus backwards in time, allowing for interstellar travel. The negative energy produced by starship's hyperdrives moves the ships into this dimension and keeps them in a bubble of normal space. As such time progresses at a normal rate on board. When ships enter hyperspace the light from the stars seems to stretched towards them, which is an illusion produced by the bending of spacetime as the ship transitions from sub to hyper light travel. Once in hyperspace all is dark expect for globular blue bursts of light, which are produced by tachyon particles colliding with the negative energy field. Since hyperspace is still a spatial dimension it is wrapped by gravity meaning the hyperdives need to make complicated calculations to plot the ships journey through the galaxy, otherwise they could collide with a star or come out in the middle of an asteroid field. The sheer magnitude of the calculations (on the order of 10^35 per hyper jump) was a limiting factor when hyperspace was first discovered and was only accomplished when civilizations acquired fast enough computing power.

Hyperspace Lanes: These were well known and frequently used routes through hyperspace. Because of their proximity to key systems they were often used for trade and were monitored by Republic Defense forces.   

Jedi: A member of the Jedi Order, Jedis are the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy. They utilize the Lightside of the Force, wield lightsabers, and characteristically dress in flowing brown or tan robes. Celibate, they act as keepers of the peace and are skilled in diplomacy as well as combat.

Jedi Order: An ancient religion of force sensitive users, the Jedi Order has kept peace in the galaxy for over a thousand generations. It is led by the Jedi Council, which consists of Jedi Masters and currently resides in a great temple on the city planet of Courscant.

Lightsaber: A Jedi weapon, these swords consist of a metallic hilt which contains a focusing crystal and power cell. When ignited it releases a characteristic snap-hiss, and emits a meter long plasma blade (approximately a 2.5cm in diameter), contained by invisible magnetic fields. The plasma is hot enough to melt through almost an material. It has been described as an eloquent weapon for a more civilized age.

Lightside of the Force: The Lightside of the Force is utilized by the Jedi. It is characteristically only used for defense and presumably works to restore peace and harmony to the galaxy.

Sith: Not to be confused with the sith species, the Sith were originally Jedi who had fallen to the Darkside and rebelled against the Jedi Order. After a period of civil war known as the Hundred Year Darkness, the Sith settled on Korriban where they enslaved the native species and took their name for their own. For millennium the Sith Lords (see below) concentrated power and battled against the Jedi and the Republic until they were all but wiped out thousands of years ago following the Great Hyperspace War. They utilized the Darkside of the force and attempted to control and bend it to their own will. Sith desired power above all else and relentlessly pursued it, often betraying their own masters. The Sith were sworn enemies of the Jedi.

Sith Lords: Masters of the Darkside of the Force, the Sith Lords were the rulers of the sith people for thousands of years. They were ruthless and powerful. Now all but extinct, destroyed by the Jedi over a thousand years ago. Many of their tombs rest on the barren planet of Korriban.

Transparsteel: A very durable transparent metallic alloy used for windows in space craft and in large megaskyscrapers. Unlike glass this material did not shatter when impacted, instead it would would flex and bend.

Turbolaser: A heavily concentrated blast of plasma, the name laser was somewhat of a misnomer. However, the laser cannons used to produce these blasts did use electromagnetic (light) amplification by stimulated emission radiation to produce the plasma, which is where the name probably came from. The 'turbo'laser cannons were able to produce repeated blasts in quick succession, hence the modifier 'turbo.'