A domino is a rectangular piece of wood or plastic bearing an arrangement of dots on its face. It is used in many games as a means of counting points or creating patterns. When a domino is stood upright, it stores energy that can be converted to kinetic energy when the tile topples. The process creates a chain reaction, causing domino after domino to fall. A domino can also be used to represent the number of units in a series.
Domino is also a word that refers to a type of mathematical polygon. See the article Domino polygon for more information.
While dominoes are most often used in positional games, they can be used in a variety of other ways including creating art. Domino art can be as simple or as elaborate as a player chooses to make it. Some artists use the tiles to create straight lines, curved lines, grids that form pictures when they fall, or 3D structures like towers and pyramids. Other artists use dominos to teach children about shapes, numbers, and colors.
When playing a domino game, the first person to place a tile sets the standard for how the rest of the players must proceed. If a player is unable to follow the established order of play, they must “knock” or rap the table and then pass play to another player. This is known as a domino rally.
The first domino set was a simple 28-tile double-six set, consisting of two matching ends with the same number of pips (either one or six). Later, larger sets were developed that increased the maximum number of pips on an end to three. Common extended domino sets include the double-nine and the double-12.
A domino is a polygon of order 2, which means that its sides are parallel and that it has exactly one equilateral triangle. A domino can be constructed with a square or a rectangle, but a rectangular domino is more commonly used because it provides an easy way to visualize the open and closed ends of the polygon.
Unlike other polygons, there is no point in the center of a domino, because it has no radius. For this reason, dominos do not need a central line. However, they do need a line dividing the domino into left and right sections.
In mathematics, a domino is the basic building block of polygons. It is a polygon of order 2 and has straight sides that meet at an equilateral triangle. Dominos are also the base for other polygons such as the tetrahedron and the icosahedron.
In the business world, a domino effect occurs when one event triggers a series of other events, similar to the way a single pebble can cause a large wave. This can be a negative or positive result, depending on the circumstances. For example, if a company loses its best salesperson, that can impact the entire team and possibly lead to reduced profits. Conversely, if a new product wins an industry award, that can boost brand recognition and lead to increased sales.