Short answers, pulled from the story.
Han Solo's DL-44 blaster pistol is based on the 7.63-caliber Mauser C96, an automatic pistol used in World War I and World War II. Lucasfilm's prop department added a scope and an emitter nozzle to the firearm to give it a futuristic appearance.
The E-11 blaster rifle is based on the Sterling submachine gun used by the armed forces of the United Kingdom across the second half of the 20th century. The filmmakers made several design changes, including alterations to the magazine.
Sound designer Ben Burtt created the blaster sound during a family backpacking trip in the Pocono Mountains in 1976. He struck the guy-wire of an AM radio transmitter tower with a hammer and recorded the resonating sound with a nearby microphone.
MythBusters declared this myth busted in episode 236. Adam Savage analyzed Star Wars footage to estimate bolt speed, then the team fired projectiles from a pneumatic cannon at a distance of 40 feet, and neither participant could dodge the shots due to the limits of human reaction time.
The color is determined by the type of gas used as ammunition. The least expensive gases generate red particle beams, while more expensive gases produce green beams. The filmmakers also used color and screen direction, influenced by Akira Kurosawa's film Ran, to distinguish opposing forces in battle.
Yes. The United States Navy began inducting laser weapons into its fleet from late 2014, and the Air Force Research Laboratory is working toward laser-capable fighter aircraft by 2030. Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems also announced in 2014 it was developing a laser-shield system called Iron Beam, which a spokesman compared to Star Wars lasers.