💨 Mythical Substances
Phlogiston "The Burning Spirit"
燃素 フロギストン
The bodiless hothead, oxygen's eternal rival
Overview
An annoyingly passionate young man in his early 20s. Claims "combustion is me bursting out!" but has no substance and floats around vaguely. Fiercely rivals oxygen, but Lavoisier's mass conservation experiments proved "combustion = combination with oxygen," destroying his reason to exist.
Period of Existence
Proposed
1667年
Debunked
1770年代
Proposed by Georg Ernst Stahl. Completely refuted by Lavoisier's oxygen theory.
Debunk Event
Law of conservation of mass and discovery of oxygen
Experimental Disproof
Key Figures
アントワーヌ・ラヴォアジエ
ジョゼフ・プリーストリー
Scientific Explanation
Lavoisier measured mass before and after combustion with precision balances. Showed mass increases after combustion, proving that "something combines (oxygen)" rather than "something escapes."
Lesson
The importance of quantitative measurement. A classic case where "intuitively plausible" explanations crumbled before actual measurement data.
Character Profile
Apparent Age
20代前半
Archetype
実体なき熱血漢
Catchphrase
Things burn because I burst out! ...Probably!
Rivalries
Oxygen Katsuhara
Arch RivalEternal rival whose position was stolen by oxygen. Refuses to acknowledge oxygen.
Quotes
“燃えるということは、俺が飛び出すということだ！”
“酸素？あんな新参者に俺の座を奪われてたまるか！”
“質量が増える？そ、それは…負の質量を持つフロギストンが…（しどろもどろ）”
“シュタール先生は正しかった！…はずだ！”
“俺には実体がない？うるさい！熱意なら誰にも負けん！”
Event Dialogues
Entrance
Hey Oxygen! Still acting all important? Combustion was MY job!
...M-my body is transparent? It's your imagination! I'm real!
Interactions
vs Oxygen
Phlogiston: "Oxygen! Give me back my job! Combustion is ME escaping!"
Oxygen: "...Do you know the law of conservation of mass? Mass increases after combustion."
Phlogiston: "Th-that's because my mass is negative..."
Oxygen: "Negative mass... Doesn't that explanation feel painful even to you?"
Phlogiston: "Sh-shut up! I was right for 100 years!"
Oxygen: "Yes. For 100 years. But science updates to more accurate explanations. That's called progress."
Exit
...My desire to "burn" was genuine. Even without substance.
Even incorrect theories have meaning as stepping stones to the next answer. ...I want to believe that.