What more can we learn from a master plot of energy rate versus mass for a wide variety of (complex) systems?

Dissipative systems are a particular class of complex systems with energy flowing through the systems to maintain their complexity. A dissipative system is characterised by its mass and energy rate (ER). Chaisson [2001] has proposed energy rate density (ERD = ER / mass) as a single, simple metric to describe the evolution of complexity over big time. The database with mass and ER data of dissipative systems of the previous study [van Duin, 2024] has been expanded with new data for “special” systems with very small or large mass and ER, as well as different energy processing mechanisms (3200 → 4000 rows with data). A new plot of ERD vs. mass shows much more clearly the ERD threshold of 105 W/kg, separating stable, dissipative systems from unstable, explosive systems. Simply stated, this ERD threshold is the result of too much energy being concentrated in a too small system in too short time. A lower ERD limit for systems just to stay “alive” is estimated at 10-8 W/kg. Evolution in the broadest sense can be viewed as the process of groups of systems exploring the ER vs. mass area between these ERD limits of 105 and 10-8 W/kg. Different groups of systems follow different ER vs. mass trajectories. Apparently, there is no universally preferred route for ER & mass evolution. Technological innovation is characterised by several ER vs. mass trajectories pointing in different directions, because of the conscious design of such technological systems in order to fit their different application requirements. ERD has decreased during the evolution of multicellular eukaryotes, hominins, and stellar populations, as well as over the lifetime of a human and the human society. These findings challenge the use of ERD as a universal metric of complexity over big time. Finally, a new hierarchy for complex systems is proposed, covering “all” systems relevant for big history. This scheme combines several ERD classes (conservative systems: 0 W/kg; stable, dissipative systems: 0 < ERD < 105 W/kg; explosive systems: > 105 W/kg; and abstract systems: ERD ill-defined) with two qualitative descriptors (self-organisation and adaptivity).