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In this clip from the Phantom Menace, we see Qui-Gon take a blood sample from Anakin and have Obi-Wan analyze it for midi-chlorians. From there they get this number: Anakin has a midi-chlorian count of over 20,000.

But what does that mean? Are the Jedi measuring midi-chlorian count per unit volume (whatever that unit is), or are they extrapolating from the small blood sample the total count of midi-chlorians in Anakin's body?

Canon answers are preferred, but Legends answers are welcome as well.

A dupe flag was placed on this question linking the question regarding midichlorian counts and body parts. I thoroughly read the linked question and its answers and was not satisfied that this question would count as a dupe. For starters, the linked question is asking about what would happen to a Jedi's powers if they were to lose their limbs. This is quite distinct from a question asking about a specific scene in a specific movie. Two, the accepted answer to that question does not answer this question. Three, the majority of answers on the question were made before the Disney acquisition and are therefore based on Legends materials. While I did open up to Legends answers, I am primarily seeking Disney Canon answers. Finally, the best answer that does answer this question is based on out-of-universe Word of God (also before Disneyfication) and then extrapolates a conclusion based on that statement. Not quite the level of evidence that I am looking for.

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    Possible duplicate of When Jedi lose parts of their body, does their midi-chlorian count and strength in the Force diminish? – Möoz Feb 02 '17 at 04:52
  • Maybe per milliliter? – AndreKR Feb 02 '17 at 04:58
  • Does the post Mooz linked answer your question? – Gallifreyan Feb 02 '17 at 07:17
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    What exactly are the Jedi measuring in the Phantom Menace? The patience of the audience... – xDaizu Feb 02 '17 at 08:19
  • @Gallifreyan: No, I do not think so. One, the question is quite distinct. Two, the accepted answer to that question has nothing to do with this one. Three, The only answer that does mention that midi-chlorian count is per-cell is the third answer down, and only references one WoG reference rather than giving a proper in-universe answer. – DBPriGuy Feb 02 '17 at 14:46
  • Trek was famous for introducing hand-waving magic particles like this too. I saw one wag online years ago call them "bullshittion particles", and now that is forever what I mentally call any such Sci-Fi plot device. Sort of like a microscopic version of unobtanium. So the answer is that they were measuring bullshittions in his bloodstream. Leave it at that. – T.E.D. Feb 02 '17 at 16:48
  • They're measuring whether Lucas is as bad as math as J. K. Rowling is. – Monty Harder Feb 02 '17 at 18:07
  • Whatever it is, this is true: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiMHTK15Pik – Yakk Feb 03 '17 at 00:20
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    Blood level measurements in real life are usually along the lines of a ratio like mol/L or g/L or even the odd Eq/L. I kind of like the sound of milliEquivalents per Liter. There's no reason to think the Star Wars universe should have something too different from that, seeing as how that gives you an absolute measure in your own body plus a relative measure to everyone else at the same time. –  Feb 03 '17 at 09:50
  • Flagged for migration to MathOverflow.SE – DVK-on-Ahch-To Feb 03 '17 at 11:36
  • While there's no getting away from the fact that the prequels happened, we don't need to get bogged down in accepting every detail of every screw up they contained. Midicholorians? They don't exist, the force is space magic, Annakin had a perceptible (to the Jedi) natural aptitude - we're done here. – Grimm The Opiner Feb 03 '17 at 11:57

2 Answers2

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Midi-chlorians are the powerplant of the force.

The unit is per cell... probably, but there's not much canon on this because, frankly, the community hated it more than Jar Jar, and in a fit of competence they just kinda let it go.

Anakin's count was said to be "20,000", however, George Lucas in an interview with Terry Brooks (who was authoring the novelization of Episode One) said “In Anakin’s case, there are, instead of one or two or three midi-chlorians in each cell, there’s like a thousand. It’s unbelievable how many midi-chlorians are in there.” (Source)

Now, of course, there are older quotes where he implies that The Force is "like yoga," and he implies that some aliens are more sensitive to the force because "their brains are different."

George also stated that every single cell needs at least one midi-chlorian, or else it isn't "alive." And we know that we are made out of TRILLIONS of cells, so the "20,000" count cannot be a grand total per body, and just about no organ in the body is composed of only 10-20K cells. So it must be a much smaller division.

Interestingly enough, the databank doesn't contain an actual entry on Midi-chlorians.

The inspiration seems to be the mitochondrion, the powerplant of the cell. However, unlike midi-chlorians, red blood cells even lack mitochondria. If mitochondria actually ARE the inspiration for midi-chlorians, the count per cell isn't too weird; liver cells can have more than 2000 mitochondria per cell... so considering Anakin is supposed to be uber powerful, I can believe that each cell contains 20,000 midi-chlorians.

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    Mitochondria aren't really that discrete though, they can fuse and divide as needed. http://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1741-7007-12-35 – Nick T Feb 02 '17 at 00:10
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    Red blood cells don't lack mitochondria, at least not the way you think. While red blood cells are growing, they are normal cells in every way. Afterwards, when they join your blood to carry oxygen, they eject their nuclei. At that point they don't have mitochondria, but at that point they're more like some sort of zombie cell anyway. – fectin Feb 02 '17 at 00:31
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    You're right, @fectin, I wasn't clear. Red blood cells don't have mitochondria when in your bloodstream, which is where you get red blood cells in a blood test. I had originally supposed that they were testing against white blood cells, but that was too much supposition for an answer. – Zoey Green Feb 02 '17 at 00:50
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    Wait, there are aliens that do yoga better than humans? Where is that referenced? :) – Paul Feb 02 '17 at 02:00
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    I never thought about the midi-chlorians <> mitochondria comparison, it actually makes a lot of sense. There is support for the theory that the mitochondria is some kind of beneficial parasite instead of a natural part of us, this would tie in with how the force works very well. – Kevin Feb 02 '17 at 09:37
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    So the base of his power has a ratio of “like a thousand” vs “one or two or three” of an average person? And all he achieves with that is killing younglings, force choking a few non-force-sensitives and killing that old guy that managed to beat him two decades ago? I’m not impressed. – Holger Feb 02 '17 at 18:17
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    @Holger normal folks don't do anything with the Force at all... a thousand times "basically nothing" isn't necessarily very much. (One problem with making the numbers explicit like that is that if anything he now seems implausibly strong... he surely shouldn't be able to lift a sheet of paper with "only" a thousand times average power.) –  Feb 02 '17 at 18:37
  • @Holger everyone, EVERYONE, is sensitive to the force a little bit. Occasionally, one gets a strange premonition, or in an emergency they get a boost of vitality that can save lives. But that doesn't make them a Jedi; in order to be a Jedi, you have to have tens, or hundreds, of midis in your cells; this makes you "ultra sensitive" and gives you access to the powers you mention. At thousands, and tens of thousands, one's connection to the force becomes unimaginable... but that doesn't mean your every step trembles the Earth. And besides, you have to train to shape the force to your will. – Zoey Green Feb 02 '17 at 19:18
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    Also, it is completely undefined how midichlorian count would translate into actual force strength. For example, if Strength = ln(midichlorians), a count of 20,000 is less than twice as strong as 200. It might still be a shockingly high number, but that doesn't mean it makes a huge difference. – fectin Feb 02 '17 at 23:50
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    +1 "because, frankly, the community hated it more than Jar Jar, and in a fit of competence they just kinda let it go". Well, that's my quote of the day. I can go back to bed now. – Mike Ounsworth Feb 03 '17 at 14:58
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Several non-canon (Legends) sources clearly state that the count is per cell.

With great caution and stealth Rhinann had recently arranged to have his own midi-chlorian count tested. The results, carefully shunted and sliced through a plethora of servers and screens around the galactic information hyperlane, had at last come into his possession. As he had suspected, the number was pitifully low: a mere two thousand per cell on average.

Coruscant Nights II: Street of Shadows

and

Vader knew all about midi-Chlorians, of course-he personally had the highest count per cell ever recorded, more than twenty thousand. More than Yoda, and, he knew, more than his erstwhile Master, Kenobi.

Death Star

The Star Wars: Ultimate Blueprints Collection also comments on the unusually high numbers of midi-Chlorians found in a single sample cell.

enter image description here

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