Dragon Scales

Falconer · **Posted:** Thu Sep 24, 2009 3:09 pm

Simply enough, what are they made of?

Drakel · **Posted:** Thu Sep 24, 2009 3:24 pm

this question is off. can't be ansured. all we know right now on the subject is that dragon skales are harder than a diamond, but yet bio organic.
to help this question I will ask a few questions of my own.

how could you kill a dragon with steel?
how would the scails be formed?
how could there scales be light enough to let the dragon fly but yet hard enough to be almost impossible to breake?
would sutch scales fall/peal off and regrow like a snake or stey on and multiply till the dragon gets a full body of scails, then it will just stey on?

these are the questions you should be asking befor you ask what are they made of.

Corva · **Joined:** Tue Jul 18, 2006 3:05 pm **Posts:** 1657

What properties (aside from magic ones) are ascribed to them? Stength, weight, flexibility etc.

Falconer · **Posted:** Fri Sep 25, 2009 10:30 am

Harder than diamond? Where are you getting... Did you watch "D-Wars"?

Also the questions "how could there scales be light enough to let the dragon fly but yet hard enough to be almost impossible to break?" and "how would the scales be formed?" are both directly tied to the scale's material.

Drakel · **Posted:** Fri Sep 25, 2009 11:37 am

Falconer wrote:

Harder than diamond? Where are you getting... Did you watch "D-Wars"?

Also the questions "how could there scales be light enough to let the dragon fly but yet hard enough to be almost impossible to break?" and "how would the scales be formed?" are both directly tied to the scale's material.

OK!
1. almost evry websight or legend that has to do with dragons ses that the scailes are harder than diamond. and also wat is D-wars??

2. yes my questions are tied to yours but befor we can ansure your question we need basic questions to understand what the scails are made of. in cunlusion ppl that ansure my questions will help make an understanding of your question.

Falconer · **Posted:** Fri Sep 25, 2009 1:16 pm

Actually, from what I've read of the original accounts they're said to be harder than steel. :read:

What ancient legends do refer to is dragons accumulating a coating of precious gems on their underbellies. There is no known natural process to produce harder-than-diamond materials, although some artificial means have been discovered (Dragonrider, you're going to like this one): http://www.mcclatchydc.com/256/story/71495.html

And just out of curiosity, what dragon sites are you referencing? I don't want a long list, just a few examples, cause I'm having trouble finding fact-based dragonology sites other than this one.
This site's take on scales: http://www.dragnix.net/From_tail_to_snout/

D-Wars: Dragon Wars is a movie: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-War The first and only place I've seen dragon scales compared to diamonds.
Interestingly enough, the dragons there are susceptible to the miniguns on Apache helicopters, hinting that only the Buraki (giant serpent) had harder-than-diamond scales, and the Bukra (dragons) had inferior scales.

As to your questions, I agree that they are good ones, but most are directly involved with what the scales are made of. For example, the material would determine their weight, and subsequently whether flight was possible. In the book “Dragon Rider” by Cornelia Funke, the golden dragon has impenetrable, harder-than-diamond scales, and as a result is too heavy to fly. Also, minerals would be harder to replace than organically grown compounds, so mineral-based scales are less likely to be wantonly discarded during growth.

Drakel · **Posted:** Fri Sep 25, 2009 1:48 pm

Falconer wrote:

Actually, from what I've read of the original accounts they're said to be harder than steel. :read:

What ancient legends do refer to is dragons accumulating a coating of precious gems on their underbellies. There is no known natural process to produce harder-than-diamond materials, although some artificial means have been discovered (Dragonrider, you're going to like this one): http://www.mcclatchydc.com/256/story/71495.html

And just out of curiosity, what dragon sites are you referencing? I don't want a long list, just a few examples, cause I'm having trouble finding fact-based dragonology sites other than this one.
This site's take on scales: http://www.dragnix.net/From_tail_to_snout/

D-Wars: Dragon Wars is a movie: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-War The first and only place I've seen dragon scales compared to diamonds.
Interestingly enough, the dragons there are susceptible to the miniguns on Apache helicopters, hinting that only the Buraki (giant serpent) had harder-than-diamond scales, and the Bukra (dragons) had inferior scales.

As to your questions, I agree that they are good ones, but most are directly involved with what the scales are made of. For example, the material would determine their weight, and subsequently whether flight was possible. In the book “Dragon Rider” by Cornelia Funke, the golden dragon has impenetrable, harder-than-diamond scales, and as a result is too heavy to fly. Also, minerals would be harder to replace than organically grown compounds, so mineral-based scales are less likely to be wantonly discarded during growth.

ok than harder than steel scales.
Also to know the material we need to know propertys that the scales give:)
Ex. To know what a birds fether is made out of without science we have to know the propertys it gives the bird. we know that it is hollow. We know that it is overly light, and We know that it helps the birds in more than 1 way. Then we look at matireals that fit the fethers needs. So we know what a fether is made out of.

Mostlikly I got the harder than Diamond Idea frome the same sites you get harder than steel idea. might have just red it wrong lol.
all I realy know is that it is not easy to brake and it is light so a dragon could fly

Falconer · **Posted:** Fri Sep 25, 2009 1:54 pm

Makes sense. Spider silk is tougher, ounce for ounce, than steel, so we know such a precedent exists.

vampirehunter42 · **Posted:** Fri Sep 25, 2009 3:18 pm

Well, I am short for time today. So I will just post a quick links on scales. At least for the reptilian types of scales. I am looking for an ok one on fish. Just read through the pages and understand what scales are and how they work before we start throwing stuff at eachother.
http://whozoo.org/ZooPax/ZPScales.htm
http://www.sdgfp.info/Wildlife/Snakes/SnakeInfo.htm (at the bottom of the page)
http://web.archive.org/web/200605031626 ... -slimy.htm

Ok found a couple fish ones
http://www.earthlife.net/fish/scales.html
http://australianmuseum.net.au/fish-scales

Ok using these (and more) sources we must be able to work out what the scales of a dragon would be like.

Drakel · **Posted:** Fri Sep 25, 2009 3:22 pm

dosn't fish scales come off like nothing?

vampirehunter42 · **Posted:** Fri Sep 25, 2009 4:02 pm

How about read the science web sites and see.

Falconer · **Posted:** Fri Sep 25, 2009 4:30 pm

The problem is that we're assuming dragon scales were just a variation on/mix of existing scales. That ignores the possibility that they were radically different from anything we know today.

That said, I'll get started on reading up on the topic.

Drakel · **Posted:** Fri Sep 25, 2009 4:58 pm

Reson I asked is becouse each time I go fishing the scails of a fish just falls on my hand. and those websites don't realy say if the scales of a fish falls so easily.

vampirehunter42 · **Posted:** Fri Sep 25, 2009 5:28 pm

Well that is because fish scales are like our hairs. They are attacked as overlapping single units. Of what I am reading reptile scales are more like part of the skin. Plus different fish have different styles of scales.

Drakel · **Posted:** Fri Sep 25, 2009 6:08 pm

kk.I think we all are done here O_O. that was faster than I thout lol.

Blue Tiger · **Joined:** Sun Feb 18, 2007 6:16 am **Posts:** 443

I always thought they were made of that Chitin stuff, and then I also heard that they are made of asbestos....?

Falconer · **Posted:** Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:06 pm

Maybe both.

Dragon Scales

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