Dragons have always captured the imagination of people from all ages; these fiery, exotic creatures of legend have appeared in music, literature and art from around the world. And yet, most scientists believe them to be little more than fiction, an impossible feat in reality. The idea that an animal could be so incredibly large, and yet, still possess the ability for flight, stumps most modern scientists. However, the majority of these scientists fail to recognize the significance of the assumption they are making: those ideas are based on the acceptance that dragons would have been reptilians, and base their models off of this. However, Dr. Volodimir Kapusianyk, the last living draconologists argues that they are going about their studies incorrectly: while they may look reptilian, these creatures were, in reality, a phylum all of their own, and once that is accepted, there are many explanations for the flight, body mass and supposed magic. The following is an explanation of the scientific aspects of the physiology, body part, and compounds that made up dragons, which prove dragons could have existed in this world.
Let’s start with their general physiology, which would account for the large amount of dragon sightings worldwide: the dragon is a homoeothermic creature, warm-blooded, meaning its body temperature is controlled internally. In this way, dragons could easily adapt to different environments in the same way humans do, simply marinating homeostasis, with the needed reliability on the sun, such as cold blooded reptiles. This ability to adapt easily also accounts for the large differences in habitats: from forests to underwater dragons.
Now that we’ve established that dragons were, in fact, warm blooded, we can move onto the physical qualities that enabled them to be so large, and yet still possess the ability of flight. In order to fly, it is necessary that an animal generate enough lift to counteract the force of gravity pulling them back down to the Earth; in other words, in order to fly, you must maximize life, and minimize mass. The dragon is able to do this in two ways: first, just like birds, the bones of a dragon are hollow, which decreases the mass that it would otherwise possess, making it much lighter. Secondly, while most bones are made out of calcium and a mixture of other chemicals, this is not the case with dragons. Instead, their bones are made of a long chain of hydrocarbons, which forms a very strong, but very light, plastic material. And bones aren’t the only part of the body filled with hydrocarbons in a dragon. Methane, made of mostly hydrocarbons, fills the large internal bladders of dragons; since the gas is much lighter than air, the bladder acts like an internal balloon, reducing mass while enhancing their ability for flight.
The skeleton of the dragon would also have to be much different than the reptiles they’re associated with. The wing bones would need to fit on broad shoulders to maximize the power of the wing muscles, and would need an articulator system much more complicated than anything seen in most creatures. The muscles of a dragon could easily allow it to gnaw through steel, with a bite force of around two ton per cm cube. However, most come to the conclusion that dragons could not run on land. While this is not to say they could not walk, it simply implies that the structure of their body is not built for fast movement on land, which makes sense considering they are the lord of the skies. This is not to say that all dragons could not do so, simply those typical of what people imagine; dragons in other environments may very well have been able to run at great speeds.
The scales of a dragon are very interesting to study, a mixture of the qualities in reptile scales and the qualities of human hair. Dragon’s are covered in tough, shiny scales in the shape of a pentagon (that often appear tear shaped), with the exception of their neck and underbelly. Some scientists believe that absence of scales is due to certain dragon’s needs to burrow underground, but not all draconologists are in agreement over that theory. Each scale has two long sides and two short sides, as well as one very short side that connect with the body. The scales overlap neatly, and a tiny cavity in the surface allows each scale to fit into the other perfectly, allowing freedom of movement. The innermost area of scale is believed to be made of a hairy formation rooted in the epidermis, or the outer layer of skin. The hair follicles produce a chemical that firmly binds the scale to the skin. The same methane heavy plastic material that makes of the dragon’s bones is found on the scales, making them extremely tough but lightweight, which allows for protection from harm, while keeping them light for flight. Another difference between dragons and reptiles is the way they do not need to shed their scales; scales are produced in the same way as human hair, growing wherever they need to be replaced.
In order to protect their soft underbelly, dragons have found an interesting way to do this, which acts as armor for their skin. Using their saliva, which contains many adhesive chemicals, the dragon will apply hard jewels made of precious stones to its neck and underbelly.
The placement and structure of the wings on a dragon are essential to procuring the correct way of flight. The wing is set up like any arm, with four fingers and a thumb, with a membrane similar to a bat that forms the wing. There are three hypotheses for the placement of the wings on dragons. The first, and the most improbable, puts the placement connected near the shoulders. Most scientists do not believe this is how a dragon’s wing would be positioned because the small surface area in the body would mike flight and gliding difficult, and the rear of the dragon would not be getting the proper support, causing it to dip towards the ground. The appearance of a dragon with these type of wings would be similar to a dragon simply hovering. The second placement for wings is right below the chest; while there is no real problem with this situation, it is still not idea, as a mixture between the two extremes. The most widely accepted hypothesis for the placement of the wings is at the thighs, which gives a much greater surface area for the wings, which, when paired with the long neck and tail, allow for great amounts of balance and allows the dragon to quickly gain or lose altitude. With the combination of wing placements, scales made out of the methane hydrocarbon and hollow bones, it is easy to see just how possible flight was for these enormous creatures.
Many believe dragons to be magical creatures because of their abilities to defend themselves, in the form of powerful weapons, such as fire, ice and acid breathing qualities. However, each of these weapons is actually quite possible when looked at scientifically.
When we eat food, our bodies digest food and produce methane gas. Dragons are able to store this methane, unlike humans and many other animals. They have an extra “lung” that acts as a canister, which holds the chemical phosphor. When methane and phosphor are mixed together, they contain the property of igniting when exposed to air. In this way, when the dragon wishes to breathe fire, he simply releases the methane into the lung with the phosphate which is returned released into the air, igniting and pushed out of the mouth to form a stream of fire.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, some dragons appear to breathe ice, which also has a basis at the digestion process of dragons. As food is broken down, the nitrogen gas that is present is taken to a separate area of the body where it is compressed by the dragon’s extremely strong muscles, similar to the way a refrigeration system works. When a dragon moves to freeze a threat, it takes the compressed nitrogen (which is nearly at the liquid state) and releases it into the lungs. When in contact with the air, the compressed nitrogen will begin to decompress at an astounding rate that results in all the gas in the area being absorbed in the reaction, which causes the temperature to drop to close to -50 degrees Celsius. Without serious protection from cold, the target of this weapon would quickly die.
The last type of weapon commonly used by dragons is spitting acid. While all animals secrete some sort of acid for digestion, dragons that use this weapon have a special organ that produces the powerful acid, hydrochloric acid. This acid, when released, can kill quickly without the proper protection, and even those with armor may find themselves with holes burnt through the metal after the acid is through with it. This direct correlation between a dragon’s weapons and their food source unfortunately means that if food is scarce, the dragon is much more at risk for death, as they have nothing, or a very weak, weapon to use.
WC: 1,539
Sources:
http://www.colba.net/~tempest/Draconology/http://www.dragnix.net/From_tail_to_snout/Class:
Dragons
Subject: Dragons: Proof for their Existence 
