The Liang Ruifeng Scale and the V-Index: An Energy–Information–Time Selection Criterion

This paper introduces the Liang Ruifeng Scale and its core formal metric: the V-index, defined as V=(I×T)/E, where I is effective structural information, T is characteristic persistence time, and E is maintenance dissipation. This framework unifies energy consumption, information structure, and temporal persistence to provide a rigorous, cross-scale foundation for evaluating thermodynamic fitness and classifying civilizations—overcoming critical limitations in the traditional Kardashev scale. It proposes the thermodynamic elimination hypothesis and derives three core implications: a revised SETI observational paradigm, the thermodynamic trend of carbon-to-silicon substrate shift, and a macroscopic evolutionary trajectory across cosmic history. This position paper establishes the formal definition, theoretical framework, and priority of the V-index and Liang Ruifeng Scale for future research in physics, astrophysics, complex systems, and energy-information modeling.