We’ve all seen those mesmerizing videos of long chains of dominoes toppling one by one until the final piece reaches the ground. It’s a visual symbol of the way small steps lead to big results—just like how it can be in life or even in writing. The concept of a domino effect is one that every writer should keep in mind.
Domino (also dom*i*no and dom*i*nos) is a game played by laying domino pieces, or “stones,” edge to edge on a flat surface such as a table. Each domino has one or more dots or pips on its face, which indicate its value. A domino can be valued either by the number of pips on its face or by comparing the sum of the values of the two adjacent edges. A piece with more pips is valued higher than a piece with fewer or none, and the value of a domino may also be determined by its color.
Normally, each domino is identical to the others, but some sets include a variety of different colors and shapes that can be used in the same game. In addition, some people use dominoes to create artistic designs on a wall or other surface. These creations can range from straight lines and curved lines to grids that form pictures when they fall, or 3D structures such as towers and pyramids.
Aside from being a fun game, dominoes are also a useful tool for teaching science, physics, math, and social studies. They can be used to illustrate simple concepts such as gravity or a timeline of important events. For example, a student can set up a timeline of the history of Rome by arranging dominoes in chronological order on a map.
Dominoes can also be used to demonstrate a principle of physics called the law of conservation of energy. A domino has a lot of potential energy, or the energy it contains before it’s knocked over, but once it falls, some of that potential energy is transferred to the next domino in line. This enables the next domino to knock over even more pieces, and so on.
In his popular 1983 video, University of British Columbia physicist Lorne Whitehead demonstrated the power of dominoes to knock over objects about one-and-a-half times their size. Each domino has a high center of gravity, and it only takes a slight nudge to cause it to tip over. Once it does, the rest of the chain will follow suit.
Many modern domino sets are made of polymer, which is less expensive and more durable than natural materials. However, traditional dominoes are still available in a variety of natural materials including bone, silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl), ivory, and dark hardwoods such as ebony. In recent years, they have been manufactured from other substances including metals such as copper and brass; ceramic clay; frosted glass; and acrylic resin. These alternate materials have a more novel aesthetic and feel heavier than their polymer counterparts.