C
Prologue
In chapter 929 we learned that X-Drakeand Page One are dinosaur zoan users that fall into the dragon-dragon zoan category, and so I started wondering why Oda chose to call it that. When chapter 930 was released I can't say I got further confirmation of my thesis when we learned that King wildfire has eaten a dragon-dragon zoan model: ancient beast Pteranodon seeing that he is engulfed in flames all the time which likely is the result form some other external source (although it doesn't rule out my theory either). On another note a Pteranodon is actually not a dinosaur but a pterosaur which belongs to another clade of reptiles, so the dragon-dragon category may not just apply strictly to dinosaurs but I would imagine prehistoric animals spanning from the Triassic to the Cretaceous era. So while there may be a multitude of reasons for this naming scheme this I want to bring up a point that I don’t think anyone has touched on yet to bring some perspective on the matter.
The bible
So you may rightly wonder at this point why the Bible of all things would be able to tell us anything about what kind of relationship dragons could possibly bear with dinosaurs. Well the bible is of course open to many different kinds of interpretations and a great number of people believe in fact that not only are the ‘dragons’ mentioned multiple times in the bible real, which goes by the name of leviathan or bohemoth, but that it also refers to dinosaurs, where the Hebrew word tannin can be translated as dragon. Now, the term dinosaur was relatively recently coined in the 1840s when they were first classified as a distinct group of prehistoric reptiles. Prior to that dragon was a word used to describe the creature found in mythology as well as larger reptiles such as the Komodo dragon.
If we look at some examples in the bible there is in the book of Job a description of a plant eating creature that “moves his tail like a cedar” and whose “bones are like beams of bronze” (Job 40:15–24) and this description is conspicuously similar to what a brachiosaurus would look like. Similarly in Job 41:19-21 we find: “Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out. Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron. His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth.” which sounds a lot like a dragon
Dragons, culture and dinosaurs
In fact the conception of dragons have been found in cultures all throughout the world, from Iceland to Hawaii to New Zealand. That’s a very strange fact indeed and many explanations have been offered, some more credible than others. Dragons are mostly visualised like big lizards and if different cultures had in fact found fossilised remains of dinosaurs reminiscent or looking like lizards this would explain why different cultures may have adapted their own version of huge lizard-like creatures that we’ve come to identify as dragons. That would also explain why different cultures have such widely different depictions of dragons, everything from the western depiction of a four to sex limbed reptilian to the eastern variation that is more reminiscent of a water dwelling serpent.
Dragon-Dragon awakening
Devil fruit awakenings as we have seen can affect the surroundings as in the case of Doflamingo and Katakuri (which we can’t really account for with a ‘scientific’ explanation at this point) so would it really be so strange if let’s say through awakening of the dragon-dragon devil fruits is that: they can breath fire? But if we actually tweak with nature a bit by use of this very convenient plot device being devil fruit awakenings, then what if I suggest that this could impart physiological changes to the dragon-dragon zoans that enable a sort of fire producing mechanism? One need only to look at what nature has already produced to get an idea of what might work.
Some hypothesis and science behind it
(1) the bombardier beetle
Looking at our natural world as a parallel, is fire production completely out of the realm of possibilities from a biological perspective? Is there any precedence to draw from or any hypothetical scenario we can think of where fire production could work from a simply biomechanical point of view?
This is the Bombardier Beetle. This half inch little bugger can eject a hot chemical stream that can generate heat that can reach up to 212 degrees Fahrenheit, i.e. 100 degrees Celsius in temperature, very close to the boiling point of water. It accomplishes this by mixing two chemicals it has got stored in two seperate compartments into a protective chamber where they're mixed with two enzymes that acts as a catalyst and as a means to break down the substances into reactive components. This protective chamber situated in it's hunter, i.e. biology talk for rear end, is then connected to a one-way valve that is connected to cannon like appendage from which this hot and pulsating toxic stream, like that of a jet engine, almost boiling upon discharge, is squirted with a little popping sound and which it can aim almost like a turret with a pinpoint accuracy against any would be prey or against any freebooting frogs, ants and birds or other predator that doesn't know what's in their best interest. The high pressure that builds up in the chamber following the highly exothermic (heat and pressure releasing) chemical reaction results in the closure of the wall linings to the two compartments which ensures that no internal damage results from this dangerous chemical concoction. The high pressure also results in an extremely fast reaction that takes place in the order of a few milliseconds, around 2 miliseconds
While the fiery substance in question is fairly common among insects as a chemical defensive by for instance millipedes and the use of chemicals as a defensive mechanism is seen all throughout the animal kingdom as a matter of fact, what makes the bombardier beetle unique, however, is it's ability to superheat this discharge.
(2) The requirements for fire
So to begin with, to get fire you need essentially three ingredients: a fuel, a source of ignition and oxidiser, basically something that receives electrons, usually this is oxygen but theoretically other substances work as well (but let's stick with oxygen). This is the so called so called fire triangle. To begin with one might want to look at the kind of fuel that potentially could be used.
(3) Pyrophoric materials
(3.1) Iridium
There are compounds that don't need that initial spark of ignition to get going. Those are known as pyrophoric substances that reacts violently with oxygen in the air even below room temperature when they’re finely powdered up. An example would be iridium that can react violently when it reacts with and forms bonds with other molecules and in the process burns in different colours (perhaps something that would be befitting the upcoming fire festival). However, iridium is not a very common element in terms of biology and is in fact the rarest material in Earth's crust, only about three tonnes of this element is produced annually for industry primarily. For private use, it's an extremely expensive material and so I couldn't find any good videos on YouTube of someone using pyrophoric, grinded up Iridium and burning it, and Iridium is otherwise highly stable in its natural form. However, in theory Iridium does this. Iridium is also associated with the extinction event that killed off the dinosaurs owing to the abundance of iridium found in the clay layers that marked the transition from the Cretaceous (dinosaur era) to the Paleogene era, and so this is what gave rise to the famous Alvarez hypothesis, that the dinosaurs were wiped off by an extraterrestrial object, i.e. a meteorite, because of the fact that iridium is found in higher concentrations in meteorites and meteors. Hence, it would be something indeed if the dragon-dragon zoans used iridium, wouldn't it? :)
Extremely expensive Iridium powdered up which can cost up to 1000$ per ounce.
(3.2) Iron
Iron is a pyrophoric substance and is a little closer to home one might say. Of course everyone knows that Iron naturally reacts with oxygen to form Iron Oxide, or what is more commonly know of as rust. And while this reaction is exothermic it's rather slow under normal conditions. However, extremely finely powdered Iron metal particles react much quicker and much more violently due to interacting with oxygen over a larger surface area and thus creating a more complete oxidation reaction. With a large enough surface area the iron particles will spontaneously start to burn, thus by making the iron into smaller particles and, accordingly, with small enough particle sizes you have pyrophoric Iron.
Iron reacts readily with hydrogen sulfide, Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), which is a flammable and also extremely toxic gas with the characteristicly foul odor of rotten eggs. You will naturally find this substance in crude petroleum and associated activities like drilling and oil refinement as well as hot springs. It is formed by the breakdown of organic material by sulfate reducing bacteria, certain bacteria that uses sulfate to form hydrogen sulfide.
Hydrogen sulfide and other sulfur compounds in the vapour phase can react with the iron in pipelines and storage tanks and cause explosions when the Iron in the Iron oxide reacts with the sulfide. This takes place during conditions when the oxygen is lower than that of hydrogen sulfide because otherwise the Iron would much more readily react with oxygen, and so when the iron sulfide is subsequently exposed to air it is oxidised back into iron oxide and the Sulfur forms either free sulfur or sulfide dioxide. However, this reaction is so energy releasing that the iron becomes incandescent and can start igniting any nearby flammable materials, such as hydrocarbon mixtures in the case of oil refiniries which often encounters this problem of iron sulfide fires and explosions caused by air leakages.
There are other viable pyrophoric materials but I think these suffice to show that there's a potential for pyrophoric materials to be used as a the fuel source. If you keep it compressed in a specialised reservoir or compartment perhaps also blended with less reactive compounds (such as longer chains of carbohydrates) so as to not make it reactive then you can, just like in the case of the Bombardier Beetle, have special kind of glands that mix the right compounds to get the fiery inferno going when you want it.
(4) Now, how will it cope with the heat?
(4.1) The ever so versatile element...
Carbon
Before I get into other alternatives to pyrophoric compounds, one would by this time already question how the dinosaurs would be able to survive the internal tremendous heat and keep themselves from burning themselves. A solution to this could for instance be to use carbon, something that's ubiquitous and common to life, which in chemical bonds could be fashioned into something like nanotubes or in sheets like graphene for instance. Both of these are indispensable in industry because of their high thermal conductivity, among other things. By positioning these carbon sheets or tubes in a strategic arrangement this would be able to spread out and transmitting the heating effect from a hot point source over a wider area so as to cause an overall increase in body temperature but prevent internal burnings.
(4.2) Imagine a fiery pepper spray
When the dinosaur breathes out the fire at high pressure it travels outward, away from its body. However when it stops for but a moment this presents a problem as the reduction in pressure would result in the fire travelling back and subsequently scorching the dino's face. This is the problem that would result with having the fire in gas form as gas is very unpredictable and hard to control it's flow. A gas also expands and so it'd be difficult for the dinosaur to keep it contained. However, a solution to this problem would be to suspend the fuel solution with a slight amount of liquid so that the fire is a mixture of gas and liquid akin to an aerosol spray such as perfume. A liquid is much easier to control and so this combination would allow for the dinosaur to control the flow. Speed is key here and as the dinosaur spurts it out fast enough the particles will react farther away from the face
(4.3) What about oral health?
Another aspect of fire breathing is the damage this would to the teeth over an extended period of exposure. Shedding and replacing of the teeth on a regular basis would solve this problem and as a matter of fact carnivorous dinosaurs are thought to have done so just like crocodiles do.
(5) Mischellaneous liquids and gases
Other alternatives that would suit as viable fuels are alcohols as they are highly flammable. As ethanol and methanol are alcohols and thus highly flammable they are also produced by living things like bacteria and yeast and so could be a viable alternative.
(5.1) Ethanol
Ethanol is produced by yeast which is a form of fungi that convert sugars into alcohol through fermentation which is why it's used to brew beer and make alcohol. Yeats is part of the microbial community that makes up life and living beings and so it's not a far-fetched idea that they could use this method to produce and utilise ethanol as their source of fire. Ethanol burns really good and would prove a good fuel.
(5.2) Methane
Cows and other ruminants, such as sheep, goats, buffaloes (essentially any animal with a set of horns or antlers on its head) produce methane that get released as burping and a small percentage as flatulence. From the perspective of global warming methane is of course a problem since it's a greenhouse gas, a so called GHG, that contributes to the warmening of the planet throug the greenhouse effect, much more so than Co2 since it's a more potent GHG. However, if you put a lighter next to a burping cow you can get a flame going as the methane is highly flammable forming carbon dioxide and water and in the process gives off a lot of energy and is very exothermic. An example would be spontaneous combustion of methane gas in marshes and swamps, in deep caves there can be small pockets of methane that can explode upon contact with oxygen (a hazard for miners) and there is also methane buried in permafrost that can be burned, among other things. Methane is produced by bacteria that exists in many lifeforms, including humans, as there are bacteria munching on our foods in our guts as well and so this could prove a good source of fuel for the dragon-dragon zoan said as well.
(5.3) invisible Methanol
Converting methane into methanol can be done using certain bacteria that can accomplish this using a rather complicated process through a number of different chemical processes. Methanol is aloha a highly flammable substance and another thing about methanol is that it's flames are mostly invisible to the naked eye. Chemically speaking this is due to the fact that methanol fires are complete combustions meaning that the carbon gets used up in the combustion reaction, and since what gives a fire the typical yellowish hue is from carbon soot, that means the fires are almost wholly invisible in broad daylight. This was actually a big problem in auto racing since fires were actually not visible. Here's an example of what I'm talking about.
I could imagine a few scenarios where fighting a opponent who shoots out invisible jets of fire would call for getting your observational haki up to speed with your opponent. And now that Sanji is expected to fight Paige One, this invisibility theme would really fit the theme of his fights since, as you all remember, invisibility is the ability that he has always wanted.
(6) A fiery combination: Diethyl ether
People have wondered how the fire breathing ability of dragons in movies and computer games and whatnot can be explained scientifically. A mechanism for how fire production could be possible for dragons was playfully posited by paleobiologist Henry Gee, that through the synthetisizing of diethyl ether by the combination of ethanol and hydrogen sulfide this could really lit things up
Hydrogen sulfide could, again, be produced by sulfide reducing bacteria and ethanol through fermentation in the gut. Through special glands these compounds will mix. However, they do need a spark to start burning and there's where the next section comes in.
(7) The source of ignition
For compounds that aren't pyrophoric a source of activation energy is needed to ignite and initiate the fiery process in the form of a spark. If you rub flint together with certain rock containing some ferrous (i.e. iron) mixture or even a piece of steel you can create a spark with high enough to temperature to ignite and start a fire. This means of creating through percussion, another fancy word for mechanical friction by striking things together, could actually be a viable way of creating a spark if for instance dinosaurs like birds or crocodiles could swallow stones used for grinding up food as a way to aid digestion and has a similar body compartment for doing so. This is also what Henry Gee proposes. Flint is of course a form of oxidised iron silicate and therefore actually pyrophoric since the act of friction through percussion releases shavings of pure iron that gets ignited. If the dinosaurs have flint like internal structures that creates percussion this could create a spark which could ignite the fire.
(7.1) metallic or crystalline teeth
Another possibility is that swallowing rocks would leave metal residues on the teeth of metals that could react together and create a spark when the dinosaur bite down with a great enough force. Another possibility involves a little bit of physics and uses a principle called piezoelectricity. This results when you apply a mechanical force to certain materials like certain crystals or ceramics that in turn this leads to a buildup of charge in these materials. Basically think about squeezing a crystal with mechanical energy that gets converted to electrical energy. This has a wide array of applications. For instance, when you speak into your microphone you want send a very clear signal to the receiver on the other end, and so a piezoelectric crystal is found in your microphone that converts the mechanical energy made from the vibrations caused by the sound waves you create into precise electrical signals that is then converted back into audible sound picked up by the receiver on the other end. Quartz is an abundant mineral in the earth's crust and also a good piezoelectric crystal (hence the term Quartz clock that uses Quartz and the principle of piezoelectricity to make very precise timepieces). Deposits of quartz on it's teeth could create an electrical spark through the application of mechanical energy this could provide the source of the ignition for the fire.
Quartz crystal
(8) oxygenated glands
Depending on which compound it is reacting with and at a certain concentration, a greater percentage or ratio of oxygen would provide a more combustible reaction. It could also make for a more explosive reaction. A greater ratio of oxygen might therefore lead to more of an explosion rather than burning. So, in theory, if the dinosaur had to think on its feet and thought he or she might have better use of a very strong explosive reaction rather than incineration, just right before discharge the dinosaurs could infuse a specific dose of oxygen into the mixture through specialised glands as this could make for a much more efficient and dangerous reaction.
Conclusion
So this has been a little fun thought experiment about what we could possibly see from the dragon-dragon zoan users, The mechanism for fire production could be informed by and inspired from the example Bombardier Beetle in the case of having separating internal valves and chambers which can be selectively opened up when the compounds are to mix so as to initiate a reaction and likewise selectively close upon contact so that no internal damage takes place from the highly exothermic (heat releasing) reaction. There are other more or less viable means of fire production as I hope to have adequately shown as well.
There are also some scriptural and historical precedence for the idea of dragons and dinosaurs being 'related', if you will, and I hope I've managed to demonstrate that as well. The notion of fire breathing dinosaurs while certainly ridiculous has nevertheless engaged the popular imagination of certain segments of the population as in the case of certain creationist circles. And as far One Piece is a fictional world thus giving us the liberty to tweak reality somewhat to account for certain One-Piece-phenomenon, this is my attempt to offer an explanation as to why the dinosaur devil fruits might belong to the dragon-dragon zoan category. Maybe Oda got inspired by the bible and all the legendary tales of dragons by that of historic myths as well as those of the creationist folks we've got around even to this day peddling the idea of there having been fire-breathing dinosaurs (yes, for real folks) Oda may have simply decided to have his own run of things and incorporate these ideas into his own story. Too far-fetched maybe? What do you think?
In chapter 929 we learned that X-Drakeand Page One are dinosaur zoan users that fall into the dragon-dragon zoan category, and so I started wondering why Oda chose to call it that. When chapter 930 was released I can't say I got further confirmation of my thesis when we learned that King wildfire has eaten a dragon-dragon zoan model: ancient beast Pteranodon seeing that he is engulfed in flames all the time which likely is the result form some other external source (although it doesn't rule out my theory either). On another note a Pteranodon is actually not a dinosaur but a pterosaur which belongs to another clade of reptiles, so the dragon-dragon category may not just apply strictly to dinosaurs but I would imagine prehistoric animals spanning from the Triassic to the Cretaceous era. So while there may be a multitude of reasons for this naming scheme this I want to bring up a point that I don’t think anyone has touched on yet to bring some perspective on the matter.
The bible
So you may rightly wonder at this point why the Bible of all things would be able to tell us anything about what kind of relationship dragons could possibly bear with dinosaurs. Well the bible is of course open to many different kinds of interpretations and a great number of people believe in fact that not only are the ‘dragons’ mentioned multiple times in the bible real, which goes by the name of leviathan or bohemoth, but that it also refers to dinosaurs, where the Hebrew word tannin can be translated as dragon. Now, the term dinosaur was relatively recently coined in the 1840s when they were first classified as a distinct group of prehistoric reptiles. Prior to that dragon was a word used to describe the creature found in mythology as well as larger reptiles such as the Komodo dragon.
If we look at some examples in the bible there is in the book of Job a description of a plant eating creature that “moves his tail like a cedar” and whose “bones are like beams of bronze” (Job 40:15–24) and this description is conspicuously similar to what a brachiosaurus would look like. Similarly in Job 41:19-21 we find: “Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out. Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron. His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth.” which sounds a lot like a dragon
Dragons, culture and dinosaurs
In fact the conception of dragons have been found in cultures all throughout the world, from Iceland to Hawaii to New Zealand. That’s a very strange fact indeed and many explanations have been offered, some more credible than others. Dragons are mostly visualised like big lizards and if different cultures had in fact found fossilised remains of dinosaurs reminiscent or looking like lizards this would explain why different cultures may have adapted their own version of huge lizard-like creatures that we’ve come to identify as dragons. That would also explain why different cultures have such widely different depictions of dragons, everything from the western depiction of a four to sex limbed reptilian to the eastern variation that is more reminiscent of a water dwelling serpent.
Dragon-Dragon awakening
Devil fruit awakenings as we have seen can affect the surroundings as in the case of Doflamingo and Katakuri (which we can’t really account for with a ‘scientific’ explanation at this point) so would it really be so strange if let’s say through awakening of the dragon-dragon devil fruits is that: they can breath fire? But if we actually tweak with nature a bit by use of this very convenient plot device being devil fruit awakenings, then what if I suggest that this could impart physiological changes to the dragon-dragon zoans that enable a sort of fire producing mechanism? One need only to look at what nature has already produced to get an idea of what might work.
Some hypothesis and science behind it
(1) the bombardier beetle
Looking at our natural world as a parallel, is fire production completely out of the realm of possibilities from a biological perspective? Is there any precedence to draw from or any hypothetical scenario we can think of where fire production could work from a simply biomechanical point of view?
This is the Bombardier Beetle. This half inch little bugger can eject a hot chemical stream that can generate heat that can reach up to 212 degrees Fahrenheit, i.e. 100 degrees Celsius in temperature, very close to the boiling point of water. It accomplishes this by mixing two chemicals it has got stored in two seperate compartments into a protective chamber where they're mixed with two enzymes that acts as a catalyst and as a means to break down the substances into reactive components. This protective chamber situated in it's hunter, i.e. biology talk for rear end, is then connected to a one-way valve that is connected to cannon like appendage from which this hot and pulsating toxic stream, like that of a jet engine, almost boiling upon discharge, is squirted with a little popping sound and which it can aim almost like a turret with a pinpoint accuracy against any would be prey or against any freebooting frogs, ants and birds or other predator that doesn't know what's in their best interest. The high pressure that builds up in the chamber following the highly exothermic (heat and pressure releasing) chemical reaction results in the closure of the wall linings to the two compartments which ensures that no internal damage results from this dangerous chemical concoction. The high pressure also results in an extremely fast reaction that takes place in the order of a few milliseconds, around 2 miliseconds
While the fiery substance in question is fairly common among insects as a chemical defensive by for instance millipedes and the use of chemicals as a defensive mechanism is seen all throughout the animal kingdom as a matter of fact, what makes the bombardier beetle unique, however, is it's ability to superheat this discharge.
(2) The requirements for fire
So to begin with, to get fire you need essentially three ingredients: a fuel, a source of ignition and oxidiser, basically something that receives electrons, usually this is oxygen but theoretically other substances work as well (but let's stick with oxygen). This is the so called so called fire triangle. To begin with one might want to look at the kind of fuel that potentially could be used.
(3) Pyrophoric materials
(3.1) Iridium
There are compounds that don't need that initial spark of ignition to get going. Those are known as pyrophoric substances that reacts violently with oxygen in the air even below room temperature when they’re finely powdered up. An example would be iridium that can react violently when it reacts with and forms bonds with other molecules and in the process burns in different colours (perhaps something that would be befitting the upcoming fire festival). However, iridium is not a very common element in terms of biology and is in fact the rarest material in Earth's crust, only about three tonnes of this element is produced annually for industry primarily. For private use, it's an extremely expensive material and so I couldn't find any good videos on YouTube of someone using pyrophoric, grinded up Iridium and burning it, and Iridium is otherwise highly stable in its natural form. However, in theory Iridium does this. Iridium is also associated with the extinction event that killed off the dinosaurs owing to the abundance of iridium found in the clay layers that marked the transition from the Cretaceous (dinosaur era) to the Paleogene era, and so this is what gave rise to the famous Alvarez hypothesis, that the dinosaurs were wiped off by an extraterrestrial object, i.e. a meteorite, because of the fact that iridium is found in higher concentrations in meteorites and meteors. Hence, it would be something indeed if the dragon-dragon zoans used iridium, wouldn't it? :)
Extremely expensive Iridium powdered up which can cost up to 1000$ per ounce.
(3.2) Iron
Iron is a pyrophoric substance and is a little closer to home one might say. Of course everyone knows that Iron naturally reacts with oxygen to form Iron Oxide, or what is more commonly know of as rust. And while this reaction is exothermic it's rather slow under normal conditions. However, extremely finely powdered Iron metal particles react much quicker and much more violently due to interacting with oxygen over a larger surface area and thus creating a more complete oxidation reaction. With a large enough surface area the iron particles will spontaneously start to burn, thus by making the iron into smaller particles and, accordingly, with small enough particle sizes you have pyrophoric Iron.
Iron reacts readily with hydrogen sulfide, Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), which is a flammable and also extremely toxic gas with the characteristicly foul odor of rotten eggs. You will naturally find this substance in crude petroleum and associated activities like drilling and oil refinement as well as hot springs. It is formed by the breakdown of organic material by sulfate reducing bacteria, certain bacteria that uses sulfate to form hydrogen sulfide.
Hydrogen sulfide and other sulfur compounds in the vapour phase can react with the iron in pipelines and storage tanks and cause explosions when the Iron in the Iron oxide reacts with the sulfide. This takes place during conditions when the oxygen is lower than that of hydrogen sulfide because otherwise the Iron would much more readily react with oxygen, and so when the iron sulfide is subsequently exposed to air it is oxidised back into iron oxide and the Sulfur forms either free sulfur or sulfide dioxide. However, this reaction is so energy releasing that the iron becomes incandescent and can start igniting any nearby flammable materials, such as hydrocarbon mixtures in the case of oil refiniries which often encounters this problem of iron sulfide fires and explosions caused by air leakages.
There are other viable pyrophoric materials but I think these suffice to show that there's a potential for pyrophoric materials to be used as a the fuel source. If you keep it compressed in a specialised reservoir or compartment perhaps also blended with less reactive compounds (such as longer chains of carbohydrates) so as to not make it reactive then you can, just like in the case of the Bombardier Beetle, have special kind of glands that mix the right compounds to get the fiery inferno going when you want it.
(4) Now, how will it cope with the heat?
(4.1) The ever so versatile element...
Carbon
Before I get into other alternatives to pyrophoric compounds, one would by this time already question how the dinosaurs would be able to survive the internal tremendous heat and keep themselves from burning themselves. A solution to this could for instance be to use carbon, something that's ubiquitous and common to life, which in chemical bonds could be fashioned into something like nanotubes or in sheets like graphene for instance. Both of these are indispensable in industry because of their high thermal conductivity, among other things. By positioning these carbon sheets or tubes in a strategic arrangement this would be able to spread out and transmitting the heating effect from a hot point source over a wider area so as to cause an overall increase in body temperature but prevent internal burnings.
(4.2) Imagine a fiery pepper spray
When the dinosaur breathes out the fire at high pressure it travels outward, away from its body. However when it stops for but a moment this presents a problem as the reduction in pressure would result in the fire travelling back and subsequently scorching the dino's face. This is the problem that would result with having the fire in gas form as gas is very unpredictable and hard to control it's flow. A gas also expands and so it'd be difficult for the dinosaur to keep it contained. However, a solution to this problem would be to suspend the fuel solution with a slight amount of liquid so that the fire is a mixture of gas and liquid akin to an aerosol spray such as perfume. A liquid is much easier to control and so this combination would allow for the dinosaur to control the flow. Speed is key here and as the dinosaur spurts it out fast enough the particles will react farther away from the face
(4.3) What about oral health?
Another aspect of fire breathing is the damage this would to the teeth over an extended period of exposure. Shedding and replacing of the teeth on a regular basis would solve this problem and as a matter of fact carnivorous dinosaurs are thought to have done so just like crocodiles do.
(5) Mischellaneous liquids and gases
Other alternatives that would suit as viable fuels are alcohols as they are highly flammable. As ethanol and methanol are alcohols and thus highly flammable they are also produced by living things like bacteria and yeast and so could be a viable alternative.
(5.1) Ethanol
Ethanol is produced by yeast which is a form of fungi that convert sugars into alcohol through fermentation which is why it's used to brew beer and make alcohol. Yeats is part of the microbial community that makes up life and living beings and so it's not a far-fetched idea that they could use this method to produce and utilise ethanol as their source of fire. Ethanol burns really good and would prove a good fuel.
(5.2) Methane
Cows and other ruminants, such as sheep, goats, buffaloes (essentially any animal with a set of horns or antlers on its head) produce methane that get released as burping and a small percentage as flatulence. From the perspective of global warming methane is of course a problem since it's a greenhouse gas, a so called GHG, that contributes to the warmening of the planet throug the greenhouse effect, much more so than Co2 since it's a more potent GHG. However, if you put a lighter next to a burping cow you can get a flame going as the methane is highly flammable forming carbon dioxide and water and in the process gives off a lot of energy and is very exothermic. An example would be spontaneous combustion of methane gas in marshes and swamps, in deep caves there can be small pockets of methane that can explode upon contact with oxygen (a hazard for miners) and there is also methane buried in permafrost that can be burned, among other things. Methane is produced by bacteria that exists in many lifeforms, including humans, as there are bacteria munching on our foods in our guts as well and so this could prove a good source of fuel for the dragon-dragon zoan said as well.
(5.3) invisible Methanol
Converting methane into methanol can be done using certain bacteria that can accomplish this using a rather complicated process through a number of different chemical processes. Methanol is aloha a highly flammable substance and another thing about methanol is that it's flames are mostly invisible to the naked eye. Chemically speaking this is due to the fact that methanol fires are complete combustions meaning that the carbon gets used up in the combustion reaction, and since what gives a fire the typical yellowish hue is from carbon soot, that means the fires are almost wholly invisible in broad daylight. This was actually a big problem in auto racing since fires were actually not visible. Here's an example of what I'm talking about.
I could imagine a few scenarios where fighting a opponent who shoots out invisible jets of fire would call for getting your observational haki up to speed with your opponent. And now that Sanji is expected to fight Paige One, this invisibility theme would really fit the theme of his fights since, as you all remember, invisibility is the ability that he has always wanted.
(6) A fiery combination: Diethyl ether
People have wondered how the fire breathing ability of dragons in movies and computer games and whatnot can be explained scientifically. A mechanism for how fire production could be possible for dragons was playfully posited by paleobiologist Henry Gee, that through the synthetisizing of diethyl ether by the combination of ethanol and hydrogen sulfide this could really lit things up
Hydrogen sulfide could, again, be produced by sulfide reducing bacteria and ethanol through fermentation in the gut. Through special glands these compounds will mix. However, they do need a spark to start burning and there's where the next section comes in.
(7) The source of ignition
For compounds that aren't pyrophoric a source of activation energy is needed to ignite and initiate the fiery process in the form of a spark. If you rub flint together with certain rock containing some ferrous (i.e. iron) mixture or even a piece of steel you can create a spark with high enough to temperature to ignite and start a fire. This means of creating through percussion, another fancy word for mechanical friction by striking things together, could actually be a viable way of creating a spark if for instance dinosaurs like birds or crocodiles could swallow stones used for grinding up food as a way to aid digestion and has a similar body compartment for doing so. This is also what Henry Gee proposes. Flint is of course a form of oxidised iron silicate and therefore actually pyrophoric since the act of friction through percussion releases shavings of pure iron that gets ignited. If the dinosaurs have flint like internal structures that creates percussion this could create a spark which could ignite the fire.
(7.1) metallic or crystalline teeth
Another possibility is that swallowing rocks would leave metal residues on the teeth of metals that could react together and create a spark when the dinosaur bite down with a great enough force. Another possibility involves a little bit of physics and uses a principle called piezoelectricity. This results when you apply a mechanical force to certain materials like certain crystals or ceramics that in turn this leads to a buildup of charge in these materials. Basically think about squeezing a crystal with mechanical energy that gets converted to electrical energy. This has a wide array of applications. For instance, when you speak into your microphone you want send a very clear signal to the receiver on the other end, and so a piezoelectric crystal is found in your microphone that converts the mechanical energy made from the vibrations caused by the sound waves you create into precise electrical signals that is then converted back into audible sound picked up by the receiver on the other end. Quartz is an abundant mineral in the earth's crust and also a good piezoelectric crystal (hence the term Quartz clock that uses Quartz and the principle of piezoelectricity to make very precise timepieces). Deposits of quartz on it's teeth could create an electrical spark through the application of mechanical energy this could provide the source of the ignition for the fire.
Quartz crystal
(8) oxygenated glands
Depending on which compound it is reacting with and at a certain concentration, a greater percentage or ratio of oxygen would provide a more combustible reaction. It could also make for a more explosive reaction. A greater ratio of oxygen might therefore lead to more of an explosion rather than burning. So, in theory, if the dinosaur had to think on its feet and thought he or she might have better use of a very strong explosive reaction rather than incineration, just right before discharge the dinosaurs could infuse a specific dose of oxygen into the mixture through specialised glands as this could make for a much more efficient and dangerous reaction.
Conclusion
So this has been a little fun thought experiment about what we could possibly see from the dragon-dragon zoan users, The mechanism for fire production could be informed by and inspired from the example Bombardier Beetle in the case of having separating internal valves and chambers which can be selectively opened up when the compounds are to mix so as to initiate a reaction and likewise selectively close upon contact so that no internal damage takes place from the highly exothermic (heat releasing) reaction. There are other more or less viable means of fire production as I hope to have adequately shown as well.
There are also some scriptural and historical precedence for the idea of dragons and dinosaurs being 'related', if you will, and I hope I've managed to demonstrate that as well. The notion of fire breathing dinosaurs while certainly ridiculous has nevertheless engaged the popular imagination of certain segments of the population as in the case of certain creationist circles. And as far One Piece is a fictional world thus giving us the liberty to tweak reality somewhat to account for certain One-Piece-phenomenon, this is my attempt to offer an explanation as to why the dinosaur devil fruits might belong to the dragon-dragon zoan category. Maybe Oda got inspired by the bible and all the legendary tales of dragons by that of historic myths as well as those of the creationist folks we've got around even to this day peddling the idea of there having been fire-breathing dinosaurs (yes, for real folks) Oda may have simply decided to have his own run of things and incorporate these ideas into his own story. Too far-fetched maybe? What do you think?
