Was the Force behind Leicester's football success? Students explore the secrets of Yoda's Force power
For many fans around the world May 4th is Star Wars Day, playing on the popular phrase ‘May the Force Be With You’ uttered by many characters in the films including Luke Skywalker’s mentor, Yoda.
However, despite his esteemed position as a Jedi Master in the Star Wars universe, Yoda may have struggled to pull off some of his trickier Force-related feats due to lack of energy, according to Natural Sciences students Leah Ashley, Rowan Reynolds & Robbie Roe.
In the Star Wars cinematic series ‘the Force’ is used in the universe to accomplish great feats of strength, agility and even telekinesis. The only explanation given for these abilities is that there are micro-organisms called ‘midi-chlorians’ living inside all living cells.
In a paper published in the Journal of Interdisciplinary Science Topics, the students aimed to calculate whether the standard energy production molecules of the body would be able to provide enough energy to produce a feat of Force strength such as that seen in the Star Wars series - and found that by using all the energy sources available to humans, Yoda would only be able to produce 5.58% of the power he is calculated to expend in the film. The students therefore suggest that the energy he draws on must come from another source and that the energy channelled by the Force does not come from the user alone.
Clearly in the case of Leicester City and their phenomenal sporting success, the Force is the sum of all parts...
Today Mark Hamill, who plays Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars films, has paid tribute to the Foxes’ unlikely title triumph, suggesting it is the footballing equivalent of his famous character's journey to defeating the Empire.