Neil DeGrasse Tyson Throws Shade On 'Game Of Thrones,' Explains Dragon Fire

As Mashable pointed out, fans immediately wondered, "Where do the Night King and the other White Walkers get those big, industrialized chains?"

"If Quora user Ralph Lengler is correct," Zimbio theorized, "The chains were actually one small part of a larger plan the Night King had for a while."

And then there's that other burning question about how the wights got those chains around the dragon when they couldn't even swim across 10 feet of water? Nerdcore Movement's Damon Martin tweeted out a plausible answer.

"The wights can't swim," he explains, "but they don't die either so they can just sacrifice themselves to attach the chains underwater."

The wights can't swim but they don't die either so they can just sacrifice themselves to attach the chains underwater

— Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) September 24, 2017

— Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) September 24, 2017

"Intriguing Thermal Physics in #GameOfThrones," he tweeted. "Blue dragon breath would be at least a factor of 3X hotter than Red dragon breath." If only this brilliant scientist could also explain how Viserion is able to fly with all those holes in his wings.

This seems to contradict Neil deGrasse Tyson's theory, as does a Vanity Fair feature on Paula Fairfield, the Game of Thrones sound designer who created the zombie dragon's eldritch scream. When asked whether Viserion demolished the Wall with ice or with fire, Fairfield answers, "He's just going at it and slicing with this. It's kind of like liquid nitrogen. It's so, so cold. So imagine if that's what it was, but it's so cold it's hot. That kind of thing."

And there's also that fan theory going around that John Snow -- the ice to Daenerys Targaryen's fire -- may wind up capturing, taming, and flying on Viserion. As covered by The Inquisitr shortly before the season's epic finale, this would also suggest the Night King's zombie dragon's breathing ice, not fire.

Although we've never seen anything resembling an ice dragon in the TV show, George R.R. Martin's books often refer to them. His 1980 children's story "The Ice Dragon" -- written well before he dreamed up what became the Game of Thrones universe -- even features one who is befriended by a "winter child" named Adara. Together they save her homeland from attacks by fire dragons.

Here's a post from Facebook with a sample of the book's incredible artwork by fantasy illustrator Luis Royo.

https://www.facebook.com/LuisRoyo/photos/a.327688247264796.82976.316625048371116/1449524708414472/

GRRM's ice dragons are portrayed as even rarer, purer, and more powerful than those run-of-the-mill fire dragons, as described in "A World of Ice and Fire."

"These colossal beasts, many times larger than the dragons of Valyria, are said to be made of living ice, with eyes of pale blue crystal and vast translucent wings through which the moon and stars can be glimpsed as they wheel across the sky."

[caption id="attachment_4517793" align="aligncenter" width="670"] Cersei destroys the Great Sept of Baelor in a blaze of wildfire. [Image by HBO][/caption]

In real life, we can use chemicals to turn flames blue. "Most types of alcohol burn as blue fire, such as ethanol, methanol, and isopropyl alcohol," ThoughtCo explains. "Natural gas also burns with a blue flame." You can also try copper chloride for the same effect. The acetylene found in blow torches for welding also turns fire blue. According to Yahoo! News, "The blowtorch is essentially a metal tube that mixes acetylene – an odorless colorless hydrocarbon gas – and oxygen to create a very hot pinpoint flame."

Arsenic and various lead compounds can also create a blue flame, but they're highly toxic. While the Night King would have no scruples about having Viserion spew forth toxic blue flames, you wouldn't want to try that at home.

"Good Bio-Physics in #GameOfThrones," he noted on Twitter. "The Dragon Wingspans are sensibly large, as their body weight would require for flight."

"Good Biology in #GameOfThrones," he praises. "As in #LordOfTheRings, Dragons forfeited their forelimbs to make wings, like birds & bats."

[Featured Image by Michael Campanella/Getty Images and HBO]