View source for Domino effect

{{Short description|Cumulative effect produced when one event sets off a chain of other events}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Distinguish|Domino theory}}
[[File:Dominoes falling.jpg|thumb|A falling line of dominoes, each knocking the next over]]
A '''domino effect''' is the cumulative effect produced when one event sets off a series of similar<ref>{{cite web|title=domino effect|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/domino+effect|website=The Free Dictionary|publisher=Farlex, Inc.|access-date=29 September 2014}}</ref> or related events, a form of [[chain reaction]]. The term is an analogy to a [[Domino toppling|falling row of dominoes]]. It typically refers to a linked sequence of events where the time between successive events is relatively short. The term can be used literally (about a series of actual collisions) or metaphorically (about causal linkages within systems such as global finance or politics). 

The literal, mechanical domino effect is exploited in [[Rube Goldberg machine]]s. In chemistry, the principle applies to a [[domino reaction]], in which one chemical reaction sets up the conditions necessary for a subsequent one that soon follows. In the realm of [[process safety]], a [[Domino effect accident|domino-effect accident]] is an initial undesirable event triggering additional ones in related equipment or facilities, leading to a total incident effect more severe than the primary accident alone.

The metaphorical usage implies that an outcome is inevitable or highly likely (as it has already started to happen) – a form of [[slippery slope]] argument. When this outcome is actually unlikely (the argument is [[Fallacy|fallacious]]), it has also been called the ''[[domino fallacy]]''.<ref name="Damer 1995">{{cite book |last=Damer |first=T. Edward |title=Attacking faulty reasoning: A practical guide to fallacy-free arguments |publisher=[[Wadsworth Publishing]] |location=Belmont, California |date=1995 |isbn=978-0-534-21750-1 |page=135}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Society}}
<!-- alphabetical order please [[WP:SEEALSO]] -->
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* {{Annotated link |Behavioral contagion}}
* {{Annotated link |Butterfly effect}}
* {{Annotated link |Cascading failure}}
* {{Annotated link |Causality}}
* {{Annotated link |Chinese whispers}}
* {{Annotated link |Copycat crime}}
* {{Annotated link |Domino theory}}
* {{Annotated link |Kessler syndrome}}
* {{Annotated link |Mathematical induction}}
* {{Annotated link |Placebo effect}}
* {{Annotated link |Side effect}}
* {{Annotated link |Ripple effect}}
* {{Annotated link |Snowball effect}}
{{div col end}}
<!-- alphabetical order please [[WP:SEEALSO]] -->

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Commons category}}
{{wikt}}
*{{cite book |title=Impact Mechanics |first=W. J. |last=Stronge |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |date=2004 |isbn=978-0-521-60289-1}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Domino Effect}}
[[Category:Metaphors referring to objects]]
[[Category:Causality]]