Dominoes are small, rectangular blocks used to play games of chance or skill. They are also a fascinating demonstration of how simple actions can have a great impact. Dominoes are cousins of playing cards and were invented in China in the 1300s. They have become popular around the world, and are enjoyed by people of all ages.
When you line up dominoes side to side, they create a chain reaction called a domino effect. The first domino is a catalyst that starts the process. The other dominoes get their momentum from the force of gravity. This pulls each one toward the ground, causing it to fall and push onto the next domino. The process continues until the last domino falls.
For Hevesh, the most exciting part of creating a domino setup is watching the entire chain reaction unfold. She has even set a Guinness Record for the most dominoes toppled in a circular arrangement, and her largest displays take several nail-biting minutes to complete. Hevesh says that when she is designing a new installation, she follows a version of the engineering-design process. She considers the theme or purpose of the installation, brainstorms images or words that might represent it, and then begins to plan how she could use the dominoes in a way that would best express those concepts.
She also studies the laws of physics to understand how each piece of her design works. She has found that a domino has two types of energy: potential energy and kinetic energy. The potential energy is the amount of force that will be applied to the domino when it’s pushed. The kinetic energy is the amount of energy that will be transmitted to the next domino and give it the push it needs to fall over. This energy is transferred from domino to domino, and from domino to domino, until the last domino has fallen.
Hevesh’s understanding of the science behind a domino rally makes her creations more realistic. It is like a puzzle that she is solving, and each new domino adds to the whole picture. Hevesh has learned that every good domino must be carefully selected. She looks for tasks that contribute to a larger goal and have a big impact. For example, she may choose to make her bed every day as a domino that will help her develop a positive self-image and build identity-based habits.
A domino is a rectangular block of wood or other material with a line down the center that visually divides it into two squares, each containing an arrangement of dots, called spots or pips. Some spots indicate the value of a domino, while others are blank or a specific number (such as 1). Most domino sets contain a total of 28 dominoes. Larger sets are available that contain 190 dominoes or more. In some domino sets, the pips are replaced with Arabic numerals to allow for easier recognition. Dominoes are used to play blocking and scoring games, including bergen and muggins.