Appraisal of the concept of energy rate density continues, as both a potential quantitative metric for complexity studies and a key feature of a unifying hypothesis for the origin and evolution of material systems throughout Nature writ large. This article extends a recent study reported in this journal, hereby analyzing normalized energy flows for an array of complex systems experiencing physical, biological, and cultural evolution. The results strengthen the comprehensive scenario of cosmic evolution in broad and general ways yet with much deep, empirical evidence. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 2011 © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
['Eric J. Chaisson']
Energy rate density. II. Probing further a new complexity metric