Domino, also known as dominoes, is a game played with a set of small rectangular wood or plastic blocks with a number of pips (dots) on each end. The earliest sets were 28 in number, but the word now refers to any set of such small blocks, whether it has 28 or 91 or 253 pieces. It is one of the most popular table games in the world. It is often compared to poker or cards, although there are many different games that can be played with the pieces.
The game can be as simple or as complicated as a player wishes. For the most basic game, each player draws a domino and places it on a table or other flat surface. When a player has no more tiles to draw, they are done playing and pass the next turn to the player on their left. Each domino that is placed has the potential to trigger a chain reaction of subsequent dominoes, each of which must be tipped over to continue the process. This can be as exciting as watching a car crash or rocket launch, and it is why many people enjoy this game so much.
Many people like to use dominoes for art as well, making intricate patterns that may be arranged into lines or 3D structures such as towers or pyramids. Others prefer to use them for entertainment, such as a domino show in which a builder sets up a long row of dominoes that are carefully positioned and then nudged over one by one. This type of show is popular on television and has become a popular form of live family entertainment at festivals, fairs, and in theaters.
Some of these shows are so elaborate that they require large spaces, such as arenas, to display them. Some builders even compete in domino shows, with the goal of building the most complex or imaginative domino reaction before a crowd of spectators.
The physics behind this type of chain reaction is quite interesting. Stephen Morris, a physicist at the University of Toronto, explains that when a domino is standing upright, it has potential energy, which is stored in its shape. When the domino is tipped over, this energy is converted to kinetic energy, which gives the domino the push it needs to fall over and trigger the next domino to tip over in turn. This continues until all of the dominoes have fallen, creating a spectacular visual effect.
A domino effect occurs in medicine when a patient infected by one illness acquires another disease, often due to poor medical care. These infections are sometimes referred to as nosocomial infections, and they can be particularly dangerous for patients with weak immune systems. For this reason, it is important that all healthcare professionals follow best practices for preventing the spread of infection. By doing so, they can ensure that their patients do not develop potentially dangerous diseases such as sepsis or clostridium difficile.