In "Dr. Stone," protagonist Senku Ishigami creates various inventions, advances his scientific empire, and engages in fierce battles with numerous powerful foes. One of the most notable mysteries in the series is the sudden petrification phenomenon that struck humanity. Since the petrification phenomenon itself is the origin of the story, it will likely be explored in more depth in future installments. The fact that almost every living thing on Earth was turned to stone brought a major halt to human civilization, which was a devastating blow. In this situation, Senku turns his attention to platinum as a material to revive humanity from the petrification phenomenon. Platinum is a rare mineral in the real world, making it difficult to obtain, making it an even greater hurdle for Senku, who must build a civilization from scratch. Therefore, obtaining platinum serves as a sort of intermediate goal in the series. Today, I'd like to introduce the process of obtaining this extremely rare metal!
Making Nitric Acid Using Platinum!
First, let's consider why platinum is so important in this work. Nitric acid is needed to reverse the petrification that suddenly struck humanity. Early in the story, nitric acid can only be collected in small droplets from deep within a cave, making it an extremely valuable material.
Materials for Unlocking Petrification
Despite being such a precious material, it's also the only way to save those who have been turned to stone. It's an extremely important item in the series, with a huge gap between supply and demand.
A huge amount is needed
Naturally, the number of humans who have turned to stone is enormous, so an enormous amount of nitric acid would be needed to save everyone. With that in mind, it's clear that the nitric acid dripping slowly from the cave ceiling alone would not be enough to save humanity.
Making nitric acid from platinum and urine?!
So, Senku came up with a solution: chemically producing nitric acid. While most of the ingredients needed to create nitric acid are easily obtainable, Senku says that platinum is an extremely rare ingredient that is difficult to obtain, posing a bottleneck in mass production of nitric acid.
The key to solving the petrification phenomenon is platinum!
For humanity, who have been sleeping as stone for thousands of years, reviving most of them is essential for the advancement of civilization. This is also the goal that Senku and his friends strive for in this film. However, mass-producing the nitric acid needed to achieve this goal requires the extremely rare gemstone platinum. Platinum is truly the key to solving humanity's petrification phenomenon.
Semi-permanent manufacturing possible
Furthermore, according to Senku, once obtained, platinum can be used as a catalyst semi-permanently. This means that if we obtain it even once, we will never have to worry about reviving humanity for the rest of our lives. Truly, it is a material that could be the biggest game-changer for humanity.
Nitric Acid Appears in World History
Many readers may not be familiar with the name nitric acid. However, it is actually used in many places we are not aware of, and it is an important substance that is essential to know about, especially if you are studying world history. From here, I would like to introduce nitric acid's actual role in human history.
Nitric acid is also necessary for the manufacture of gunpowder
In fact, nitric acid is a necessary ingredient for the manufacture of gunpowder, used in firing guns. For this reason, since ancient times, humans have needed to mass-produce nitric acid for warfare. Because the ability to use guns directly affects military strength, people in various regions have sought efficient ways to produce nitric acid.
Urine from the People Was Used to Manufacture Gunpowder
One particularly well-known story about nitric acid is that ammonia is needed to produce it. There are many records of people in medieval Europe using their urine to make gunpowder. It's a bit comical to learn that many countries actively collected their people's urine in order to win wars. In any case, isn't it fair to say that nitric acid was that important?
Mass production of nitric acid is essential to scientific civilization
As such, mass production of nitric acid is essential to scientific civilization, and it was certainly something that could not be left out of the story, which is based on the concept of retelling the evolution of human civilization.
Excellent goal setting for a shonen manga
However, if the protagonist were to say something like, "Heh heh, with this gunpowder, I can wipe out the enemy army," while depicting the process of mass-producing nitric acid, it certainly wouldn't be suitable for serialization in Shonen Jump. Perhaps that's why nitric acid was introduced in this work as a key item to reverse the petrification of humanity. When you think about it that way, you can sense the author's efforts to depict the history of human civilization, which inevitably involves gory topics, in a way that's easy for children to enjoy.
The Process of Discovering Platinum
Now, let's take a look at how Senku discovers platinum in this film. As mentioned at the beginning, platinum is an extremely rare material, and even in today's world of advanced scientific civilization, it is traded at a high price, making it difficult to obtain.
The Location of Hidden Treasure in Ishigami Village's Legend
The clue to the discovery of this platinum came from a legend left behind in Ishigami Village. As its name suggests, Ishigami Village is a village descended from Senku's father, Byakuya, who happened to be in outer space when the petrification phenomenon occurred and escaped. Ishigami Village holds a special place in Senku's heart, and a legend remains that reveals the location of the treasure left behind by Byakuya.
Build a ship to reach Treasure Island!
Some legends left behind in Ishigami Village could be interpreted as meaning that Byakuya left valuable ore for Senku and his companions. Senku believed that Byakuya had left valuable ore for himself, and decided to search for its hiding place. In order to find this hiding place, Senku used various methods, including reviving new navigator companions and building a giant ship.
A Formidable Enemy Awaits on Treasure Island
While it cannot be confirmed that the mineral is platinum, it is certain that a valuable mineral is hidden on Treasure Island, a hidden location pointed to by Ishigami Village folklore. The location is home to Ibara, a powerful priest who wielded dictatorial power. Ibara is one of the most sinister characters in the series, and Senku and his comrades struggle to confront him in the unfamiliar world of Treasure Island.
Obtaining Platinum After Hardship
Despite these numerous obstacles, Senku succeeded in obtaining the precious ore (platinum) left behind by Byakuya. Platinum is often found mixed in small amounts with gold dust, so collecting it can take decades. Despite the challenges, Byakuya continued to collect platinum, believing it would eventually be useful to Senku.
Hope Entrusted from Father to Son
In this way, the journey to achieving Platinum in this work delves deeper into the relationship between Senku and his father, Byakuya. The relationship between the protagonist and their father is extremely important in Shonen Jump works, and this is clearly depicted in this work, "Dr. Stone."
Hyakuya was convinced that Senku would definitely undo the petrification.
What's particularly touching is how Hyakuya acted without a doubt, believing that if it was Senku, he would definitely undo the petrification and begin rebuilding civilization. Just like Senku, who has a single-minded belief in the progress of science, Hyakuya continued to believe in Senku until the very end.
It's because they know each other's personalities so well
Perhaps it's because Senku and Byakuya know each other's personalities so well that they're able to clearly read each other's intentions and continue to act as if they were having a conversation, even after thousands of years have passed.
Hope Entrusted After Thousands of Years
It will be interesting to see how Senku carries on the hope entrusted to him by Hyakuya after thousands of years.
Summary
Did you enjoy this article? This time, we introduced Platinum, who appears in "Dr. Stone." Hyakuya left Senku not only Platinum but also various other feelings, and it could be said that the Platinum he collected over the decades is the very crystallization of those feelings. Be sure to tune in to the anime series to see how Platinum, entrusted from father to son over thousands of years, will play a vital role!
