A domino is a small rectangular wood or plastic block that bears an identifying pattern of dots or lines (like those on dice) on one face and is blank or otherwise identically patterned on the other. The number of such dots on each domino face determines its suit. Dominoes are often used in games of chance or strategy, and they can also be arranged to form patterns or other structures. A set of dominoes, usually 28 in number, is called a deck.
Many children like to play games with dominoes by lining them up in long rows and then knocking them over. Some children even create artistic designs by arranging dominoes into shapes. But have you ever wondered how this process works? Today’s Wonder of the Day will explain how a small action can lead to larger–and sometimes catastrophic–consequences.
The first domino to fall in a line is called the starting point. Its weight and center of gravity make it the largest domino in the line. As the starting point, it also sets the pace for all the dominoes to follow. The physics at work here is fascinating, and the domino effect has led to some interesting experiments.
As the other dominoes tip over, they take on some of the starting domino’s potential energy and turn it into kinetic energy (energy of motion). Some of this energy is transferred to the next domino, which provides the push that causes it to fall. And so on, until the last domino falls.
A surprisingly large amount of energy can be transmitted from one domino to the next, which makes it possible to build very complex and intricate chains of dominoes. Stephen Morris, a Ph.D. student at Harvard University, has studied this phenomenon and found that it can be as much as two billion times more powerful than conventional physics would predict.
For the past few years, Domino’s has been working to make changes at the company. After some very public and brutally honest self-assessments, the company’s CEO Patrick Doyle redirected the company’s focus toward customer service. To do this, he made his executives read scathing criticisms of the pizza they served and encouraged them to go out and speak directly with customers.
Domino’s has also been making other changes, such as integrating their pizza ordering system into Apple CarPlay. This move capitalizes on the growing trend of people ordering food to go from their phones while in their cars.
The word domino comes from a Latin phrase meaning “fateful.” It has been suggested that the name was chosen because of the way the pieces fit together: The hooded cloak worn by priests with masks at carnival time reminded some early users of domino pieces, with their ebony blacks and ivory faces, to think of a series of events unfolding according to an expected pattern. Today, domino is also used to refer to a game played with a set of 28 tiles that are shuffled and then drawn to determine who plays first.