The Principle of Minimum Time: A Unifying Constraint from Energy-Efficiency Theory

Yang's Minimum Time Principle Δt_min = d_min / v_max is derived as a theorem from the three causal-functional postulates of Energy-Efficiency Theory (EET). The derivation is direct: any physically resolvable change requires a signal to propagate across a minimal spatial scale d_min at a maximum speed v_max. We operationalize d_min as d_min ≡ ħ v_max / E_b, where E_b is the constraint barrier, thereby unifying the spatial and energetic limits. The principle is cross-scale universal. Key applications include: (i) a first-principles derivation of the Debye frequency ω_D = π v_s / a in solids, where the lattice constant a emerges from the balance between maintenance power Ė_main and thermal energy k_B T; (ii) a…