Iron can react with another chemical, hydrogen sulfide. “If you’re living amongst a bunch of rocks, you’ll have access to a high amount of iron.” Assume that dragons like caves, he begins. There are other pyrophoric chemicals that a dragon might find a little closer to home, notes Matthew Hartings, a chemist at American University in Washington, D.C. “There are a lot of cool elements on the periodic table, but only use a few,” Burks explains. Unfortunately, iridium isn’t common, especially in biology. (That’s one way to get the blue flame of the zombie ice dragon in George R.R. It burns different colors when it becomes part of various molecules. Consider the element iridium, says Raychelle Burks, a chemist at St. Pyrophoric molecules burst into flame the instant they contact air. Steenblik Hwangīut some chemicals don’t need that initial spark. In a dragon, the gizzard might be an excellent place to store flint and steel for ignition. Birds, as well as crocodiles and alligators, can store rocks (or gastroliths) in their gizzards that grind food down. If the spark was close enough to a very sensitive fuel, that might be enough to ignite it. “Maybe what you have is sort of scales that are flintlike and click together,” van Breukelen says. Inside a dragon, swallowed flint might rub against some steel, sparking a flame. In birds, those rocks help get around a lack of teeth, allowing them to break down tough foods. If a dragon had an organ like a bird’s gizzard, it could store swallowed rocks. All it takes to strike a spark is flint and steel, notes Frank van Breukelen, a biologist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
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