Energy-Substrate Scaling: A Unified Theory of Technological Progress & Descent

By JS Boyd

Energy-Substrate Scaling proposes a unified theory of technological progress, arguing that breakthroughs, from steam engines to AI, remain inert until paired with an energy substrate capable of sustaining them. History's decisive transitions (agrarian → industrial, fossil → post-carbon) were not driven by invention alone, but by energy surpluses meeting critical EROI thresholds.

The book examines:

Novelty, Synergy, Transformation - Why some technologies scale (steam + coal) while others fail (Hero's aeolipile)Collapse as Energy Descent - How Rome and Ming China unraveled when their energy substrates degradedFuture Dilemmas - Why AI, quantum computing, and fusion face thermodynamic limits in a declining-EROI world

By integrating anthropology, complexity theory, and energy economics, this framework offers a lens for predicting which technologies will thrive-and which are doomed by energy realities.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GCCDNX66
• ISBN13: 9798241071248
• Release Date: December 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 310 Pages
• Weight: 0.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"