What is Dominoes?What is Dominoes?
Dominoes are small squares of cardboard or wood that can be arranged to form lines, arcs, grids that create pictures, or 3D structures such as towers and pyramids. They are normally twice as long as they are wide, and are stacked in rows. Each domino has a line down the middle to divide it visually into two equal parts, called ends. Each end has a number of dots, or pips, which indicate its value and the rank or weight of the domino.
As the first domino falls, it transforms some of its potential energy into kinetic energy, the energy of motion, and this energy travels to the next domino in the chain. Then, that domino transmits some of its kinetic energy to the next and so on until all the dominoes have fallen. The final domino may actually knock down other pieces about a meter away or even more.
Dominoes can be used to play a variety of games, most commonly the Block and Draw game. Each player starts with a certain number of dominoes and, if they cannot place a domino, they pass their turn to another player. The dominoes that remain, called sleeping dominoes, are added to the player’s set. At the end of each hand, the player who plays the last domino wins.
While some people use dominoes for entertainment, they are also valuable teaching tools. Students can use dominoes to learn math concepts such as addition. For example, a teacher can ask students to select a domino with numbers on both sides, and name the sum of those numbers. The teacher can then demonstrate how the addends of an equation can be written in any order.
The most common dominoes are made of clay, polymer, or cardboard, but some sets are still manufactured in natural materials such as bone (Silver Lip Ocean Pearl Oyster Shell, MOP) or ivory; dark hardwoods like ebony; stone (such as marble, granite, or soapstone); metals; and frosted glass or crystal. These sets often have a more traditional look, and they may be heavier than sets made of polymer or cardboard.
Artists use dominoes to create mind-blowing designs. The process they follow is similar to that of an engineer designing a building. Hevesh, for example, begins by considering a theme or purpose, then brainstorms images or words that she might want to include in her domino art. After that, she creates a plan and calculates how many dominoes she needs to complete the design. As she works, she checks that all the dominoes will fall in the correct order and is able to adjust her plan as necessary. She says that she can complete an installation in about three hours. A video on her website shows some of the stunning works she has created. Her work has been featured in galleries and museums throughout the world, including the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and the Royal Academy of Arts in London.