The domino effect

J. M. J. van Leeuwen

Citation: American Journal of Physics 78, 721 (2010); doi: 10.1119/1.3406154

View online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1119/1.3406154
View Table of Contents: http://aapt.scitation.org/toc/ajp/78/7
Published by the American Association of Physics Teachers

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The domino effect
J. M. J. van Leeuwen
Instituut-Lorentz, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9506, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
共Received 15 May 2009; accepted 1 April 2010兲
The physics of a row of toppling dominoes is discussed. The forces between the falling dominoes
are analyzed, including the effect of friction. The propagation speed of the domino effect is
calculated for the range of spatial separations for which the domino effect exists. The dependence
of the speed as a function of the domino width, height, and interspacing is derived. © 2010 American
Association of Physics Teachers.
关DOI: 10.1119/1.3406154兴
I. INTRODUCTION
The toppling of a row of dominoes provides a good illus-
tration of the mechanics of solid bodies. The theory behind
the domino effect is not as simple as the phenomenon might
seem. For instance, the propagation velocity of the domino
effect is not easy to calculate. In this paper we discuss the
role of the collision law, the conservation laws, and the in-
fluence of friction. The crux is the form of the collision law
on which the literature is surprisingly diverse.
Banks1 considered a row of toppling dominoes as a se-
quence of independent events: One domino undergoes a free
fall until it hits the next one, which then falls independently
of the others, and so on. He assumed that in the collision, the
linear momentum along the supporting table is transmitted.
We will show that this assumption is not consistent with
experimental results. Efthimiou and Johnson2 also consid-
ered independent collisions between pairs of dominoes only
in which kinetic energy and angular momentum are con-
served so that their collisions are completely elastic. They
found a propagation velocity that exhibits large deviations
from the experimental values obtained by Larham.3 Shaw4
introduced a collision law that comes much closer to reality.
He assumed that a domino, after having struck the next one,
keeps pushing on it. His collision is therefore completely
inelastic. In addition, he assumed conservation of angular
momentum during the collision. Thus a train of dominoes
that lean on each other and push the head of the train devel-
ops, which is what is observed and which is strongly sup-
ported by the high speed recording of Stronge and Shu.5
None of these authors treated the role of friction. In Ref. 4
the toppling of dominoes is treated as a collective effect of
many dominoes simultaneously in motion. We take this
viewpoint but show that for inelastic collisions, there is no
room for conservation of angular momentum.
II. RECURSION RELATION
A theory of falling dominoes requires the use of idealized
conditions. We consider a long row of identical and perfect
dominoes of height h, thickness d, and interspacing s. The
lateral size of the dominoes is irrelevant. Their fall is due to
the gravitational force with acceleration g. As for all systems
driven by gravitation, the mass of the dominoes drops out of
the equations. Typical parameters of the problem are the as-
pect ratio d / h, which is determined by the type of dominoes
used, and the ratio s / h, which can be easily varied in an
experiment. Another characteristic of the dominoes is their
mutual friction coefficient ␮, which is a small number
共⬃0.2兲.
721 Am. J. Phys. 78 共7兲, July 2010 http://aapt.org/ajp
The domino effect is a sequence of rotations interrupted
by collisions. Both processes have dynamical laws, which
are idealized as follows. The first assumption is that the
dominoes only rotate and do not slip on the supporting table.
While falling they keep contact with the supporting table.
The no-slip condition can be realized through sufficient fric-
tion with the table. Stronge and Shu5 and Walker6 put them
on sandpaper. The second assumption is the inelastic colli-
sion, after which the first and second dominoes stay in con-
tact and fall together till they strike the third domino and so
forth, making the domino effect a collective phenomenon.
Our main goal is to find the dependence of the propagation
velocity on the parameters of the problem. Because g is the
only quantity with time in its dimension, it may be antici-
pated that the speed will be proportional to 冑gh times a
function of the dimensionless parameters s / h, d / h, and ␮.
The speed initially depends on the initial push, but after a
while a stationary pattern develops: A propagating wave with
upright dominoes in front and toppled dominoes behind.
The typical situation is shown in Fig. 1. The state of
domino i is given by the angle ␪i with respect to the vertical.
Before domino i is hit, ␪i = 0. The foremost moving domino
is labeled by n with angle ␪n. At the moment of hitting the
next one, ␪n = ␪c with sin ␪c = s / h. As Fig. 1 shows, the angles
of the dominoes behind the foremost one are dictated by the
value of ␪n. The relation between the angle ␪i and ␪n follows
from the expressions given in Table I. Equating the expres-
sion for BC to BD− d yields the recursion relation
h sin共␪i − ␪i+1兲 = 共s + d兲cos ␪i+1 − d. 共1兲
We see that the angle ␪i can be expressed in terms of ␪i+1.
The recursion relation 共1兲 defines all quantities as functions
of ␪n. In most of the discussion this dependence is implicit in
the notation, and we only make it explicit where it is useful
共as, for instance, in Sec. V where the collision law is formu-
lated兲.
Toward the back of the train of dominos, the angles rap-
idly approach the stacking angle ␪⬁ given by cos ␪⬁ = d / 共s
+ d兲, making the right-hand side of Eq. 共1兲 equal to zero.
Thus, the falling dominoes have angles in the range of
0 ⬍ ␪i ⬍ ␪⬁. The foremost falling domino has an angle of
0 ⬍ ␪n ⬍ ␪c, the upper limit being the angle at which it loses
its role as foremost moving.
Shaw4 observed that the angle ␪n is the only independent
dynamical variable; the other angles are dependent on ␪n
through Eq. 共1兲. The peculiarity of the domino effect is that
␪n is the independent variable only for the time that n is the
foremost moving domino. Once n hits n + 1, it passes its role
© 2010 American Association of Physics Teachers 721
 冉
␦i = 1 −
s+d
h
冊
sin ␪⬁ ␦i+1 . 共5兲

The factor between brackets never exceeds 1, so the tilt

angles approach the stacking angle exponentially fast. Thus,
although the row of fallen dominoes becomes arbitrarily
long, the length of the set of falling dominoes is effectively
finite and determined by the logarithm of the factor in Eq.
共5兲. The condition Eq. 共4兲 prevents the factor from becoming
negative. If Eq. 共4兲 is violated, the recursion relation as given
Fig. 1. The tilt angle ␪i is taken with respect to the vertical. Domino i hits in Eq. 共1兲 does not hold anymore. So the approach to the
domino i + 1 at the point A. The rotation axis of domino i is point B, and stacking angle is monotonic and not alternating.
point E is that of domino i + 1. The tilt angle of the head of chain ␪n has The domino effect is an alternation of rotations and colli-
reached its final value ␪c = arcsin共s / h兲. The first domino has almost reached sions. In the rotation phase we have to calculate the final
the stacking angle ␪⬁. The normal force f i and the friction force ␮ f i that
angular velocity of domino n from its initial value. The col-
domino i exerts on domino i + 1 are also indicated. The relevant geometric
relations are summarized in Table I. lision connects the final angular velocity of n with the initial
value of domino n + 1. We first discuss the equations for fric-
tionless rotation and analyze the forces between sliding
on to ␪n+1 and becomes dependent on ␪n+1. Thus, the role of dominoes as a warm-up exercise for the collision analysis.
independent variable is constantly shifting to the next angle. We then formulate the precise collision law, inspect the con-
Before performing the dynamical analysis, we calculate servation laws, and the different collisions laws assumed in
the “fuel” 共energy source兲 of the domino effect. In the pro- the literature. The next step is the introduction of friction and
cess each domino loses the difference in potential energy the calculation of its effect on the propagation velocity. Then
between the upright position and its value at the stacking we present our results for the asymptotic velocity for various
angle ␪⬁. We write this difference as mghP / 2 to have a values of the friction and compare them with experiment. We
dimensionless measure P 共m is the mass of a domino兲, also give an explicit expression for the main dependence of
the velocity on the parameters of the system. The paper
d sh − d冑s2 + 2sd closes with a discussion of the results and the assumptions
P共h,d,s兲 = 1 − cos ␪⬁ − sin ␪⬁ = . 共2兲
h h共s + d兲 that we have made.
There are two forms of dissipation consuming this fuel: The
inelastic collision and the friction between the dominoes III. ROTATION EQUATIONS
while sliding over each other. P has to be positive to keep the In this section the equation for the rotating angle ␪n is
train moving. It gives a lower limit for the spacing given in the time interval that n is the foremost moving
s/h ⬎ 2共d/h兲3/关1 − 共d/h兲2兴. 共3兲 domino. Thus, the other variables ␪i have to be eliminated.
As mentioned, we take the index n to designate the foremost
On the upper side there is the trivial restriction that the domi- falling domino and the index i for the domino number count-
noes must be close enough, s ⬍ h, to touch each other in the ing from the beginning. Thus, i is in the interval 1 ⱕ i ⱕ n.
fallen position. For mathematical convenience we impose a We also introduce the index j for the domino number relative
sharper restriction, requiring that h is large enough that a to the foremost falling one. Thus, j is in the interval 0 ⱕ j
fallen domino can rest on the next one ⬍ n. A bar over the symbols refers to quantities summed over
h2 ⬎ 共s + d兲2 − d2, or s/h ⬍ 冑1 + 共d/h兲2 − d/h. 共4兲 i or j.
Sums over i or j run over their respective intervals unless
For larger separations the recursion relation is not satisfied otherwise stated. It is useful to employ both types of num-
for the dominoes at the back of the train. We will argue that bering of the dominoes. For instance the recursion, implied
for such large separations, the no-slip condition makes little by Eq. 共1兲 is more conveniently represented by the renum-
sense. bering
It is interesting to relate condition 共4兲 to the approach of
␪i共␪n兲 = ␺n−i共␪n兲 = ␺ j共␪n兲. 共6兲
the angles to ␪⬁. Let ␪i+1 be a small angle ␦i+1 away from the
stacking angle ␪⬁. Then, according to Eq. 共1兲, ␦i equals The functions ␺ j共␪兲 and their derivatives play an important
role in the elimination process. A number of their properties
are listed in the Appendix. For each value of ␪, ␺0共␪兲 = ␪ 共by
Table I. Geometric relations referring to Fig. 1.
definition兲 and converges rapidly to ␺ j共␪兲 ⯝ ␪⬁ for large j.
Quantity Expression Here we assume the ␺s and their derivatives as known func-
tions.
Top angle ␣ of rectangular triangle ABC ␣ = ␪i − ␪i+1 A consequence of Eq. 共6兲 is the expression for the angular
Base BC of triangle ABC BC= h sin ␣ velocities ␻i = d␪i / dt in terms of ␻n. We find
Top angle ␤ of rectangular triangle EBD ␤ = ␲ / 2 − ␪i+1
BD= 共s + d兲sin ␤ d␪i d␪n
Base BD of triangle EBD
␻i = ⬘ ␻n ,
= ␺n−i 共7兲
Height hi of center of mass domino i 2hi = h cos ␪i − d sin ␪i d␪n dt
Moment arm bi of force −f i exerted on i bi = h cos ␣
Moment arm ai of force f i exerted on ai = AE sin ␥ = AC− DE with ␺⬘j 共␪兲 ⬅ d␺ j共␪兲 / d␪.
Domino i + 1 =h cos ␣ − 共s + d兲sin ␪i+1 Without friction, the motion between two collisions is
governed by conservation of energy, which consists of a po-

722 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 78, No. 7, July 2010 J. M. J. van Leeuwen 722
tential and a kinetic part. The potential part V̄n is determined Ti = mg共h sin ␪i − d cos ␪i兲/2. 共16兲
from the height of the center of mass and is given by Consider the head of the train. It feels a gravitational torque
V̄n = 共mgh/2兲H̄n = 共mgh/2兲 兺 关cos ␪i + 共d/h兲sin ␪i兴. 共8兲 Tn and a torque from domino n − 1 equal to the force f n−1
i times the moment arm an−1 with respect to the rotation point
of domino n. The angular acceleration of domino n thus be-
The factor mgh / 2 is an irrelevant energy scale. The kinetic comes
part K̄n is given by the rotational energy, d␻n
I I = Tn + f n−1an−1 . 共17兲
K̄n = 兺 ␻2i , 共9兲 dt
2 i
Domino n − 1 feels, besides the gravitational torque Tn−1, a
where I = m共h2 + d2兲 / 3 is the angular moment of inertia with torque from n, which slows it down, and a torque from n
respect to the rotation axis. We write the total 共dimension- − 2, which speeds it up. The equation for domino i has the
less兲 energy as form
d␻i
En = H̄n + ␶2Īn␻2n , 共10兲 I = Ti + f i−1ai−1 − f ibi . 共18兲
dt
where the 共dimensionless兲 effective moment of inertia Īn is The torque due to the force f i−1 of domino i − 1 on domino i
defined as has a moment arm ai−1 with respect to the rotation point of
Īn = 兺 ␺⬘j 2 共11兲 domino i. From Newton’s third law, the force of domino i
j + 1 on domino i is the negative of the force that domino i
exerts on domino i + 1. The torque has the associated moment
and the time scale ␶ for the domino effect is arm bi. The moment arms are given in Table I,
␶ = 冑I/mgh. 共12兲 bi = h cos共␪i − ␪i+1兲, ai = bi − 共s + d兲sin ␪i+1 . 共19兲
Because En is constant in the rotational interval, Eq. 共10兲 Note that Eq. 共17兲 is a special case of Eq. 共18兲 with f n = 0.
gives ␻n as function of ␪n, For i = 1 Eq. 共18兲 holds with f 0 = 0. There are only n − 1 mu-

␻ n共 ␪ 兲 =
␶
冉
1 关H̄n共0兲 + ␶2Īn共0兲␻n共0兲2 − H̄n共␪兲兴
Ī 共␪兲
n
冊 1/2

, 共13兲
tual forces ranging from f n−1 to f 1. Remember that the ai and
bi are functions of ␪n through the recursion relation 共1兲. We
see by definition that ai ⬍ bi. Thus, domino i gains less from
domino i − 1 than domino i − 1 loses to domino i.
where we have expressed En in terms of the initial angular Although the moment arms are explicitly given, the forces
velocity ␻n共0兲 and height H̄n共0兲. The temporal behavior of ␪n f i are unknown. We can eliminate the forces from the equa-
is found from the relation tions because each f i occurs only in two successive equa-
tions. Thus if we multiply Eq. 共17兲 by r0 = 1 and the general
d␪n共t兲 equation by rn−i, the total sum vanishes,
= ␻n共␪n共t兲兲, 共14兲

冋 册
dt n
d␻i
with ␻n共␪兲 determined by Eq. 共13兲. Inversely we find the 兺 rn−i
dt
− Ti = 0, 共20兲
time t as function of ␪. The initial value of ␪n is 0, and its i=1

final value is ␪c. The time interval during which n is the head provided that the r’s are chosen such that
of the train follows by integration,
共21兲
冕 ␪c
rn−ibi = rn−i−1ai .
d␪
tn = . 共15兲 Equation 共20兲 can be converted into an equation for the an-
␻ n共 ␪ 兲
0 gular velocity ␻n. We differentiate Eq. 共7兲 with respect to the
In this time interval the position of the foremost moving time,
domino has advanced the distance s + d. The ratio vn = 共s d␻i d␻n
+ d兲 / tn gives the velocity for the time that n is the head of the ⬙ ␻2n + ␺n−i
= ␺n−i ⬘ , 共22兲
dt dt
train. Thus, the problem is reduced to finding ␻n共0兲; ␻1共0兲 is
determined by the initial push. The relation between ␻2共0兲 and rewrite the time derivative of ␻n as
and ␻1共␪c兲 is given by the collision law and so on for the d␻n d␻n d␪n d␻n 1 d␻2n
subsequent stages. = = ␻n = . 共23兲
dt d␪n dt d␪n 2 d␪n
Equation 共20兲 becomes
IV. FORCES BETWEEN FRICTIONLESS SLIDING
DOMINOES 1 d␻2
An共␪兲 n + Bn共␪兲␻2n = Cn共␪兲, 共24兲
2 d␪
Before we introduce friction we take a closer look at the
forces between the falling dominoes. Without friction the with the definitions
force that domino i exerts on domino i + 1 is perpendicular to
the surface of domino i + 1 with a magnitude f i 共see Fig. 1兲. An共␪兲 = 兺 r j␺⬘j , Bn共␪兲 = 兺 r j␺⬙j , Cn共␪兲 = 兺 r jTn−j .
j j j
Apart from these mutual forces, domino i feels the gravita-
tional torque Ti, 共25兲

723 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 78, No. 7, July 2010 J. M. J. van Leeuwen 723
 Equation 共24兲 is a linear first-order differential equation
for ␻2n, which can be solved in terms of integrals over the
coefficients A, B, and C. Because these integrals have to be
evaluated numerically, it hardly pays to use such an explicit
solution rather than straightforwardly integrate the equation
numerically. With ␻n known as a function of ␪, we can per-
form the integration in Eq. 共15兲 for the duration of the inter-
val n.
in Eq. 共A5兲. They begin as r0 = 1 and ␺0⬘ = 1, and therefore we
may identify r j = ␺⬘j . This identification implies that An de-
fined in Eq. 共25兲 and Īn defined in Eq. 共11兲 are equal,
An共␪兲 = Īn共␪兲. 共31兲
Thus multiplying Eq. 共20兲 by ␻n and using that rn−i␻n
⬘ ␻n = ␻i 共see Eq. 共7兲兲 give
= ␺n−i

V. THE COLLISION EQUATIONS

The stages of rotational motion are connected by colli-
d I
冋 册
兺 ␻2 = 兺i ␻iTi .
dt 2 i i
共32兲

sions. In this section we calculate the initial value ␻n共0兲 of From Eqs. 共8兲 and 共16兲 we see that
stage n from the final value ␻n−1共␪c兲 of the previous stage. d
The idea is that during the collision, forces are exerted dur- 共mgh/2兲Vn = − 兺 ␻iTi , 共33兲
dt i
ing a very short time interval such that the angles do not
change during the collision. Instead the angular velocities which turns Eq. 共32兲 into the standard form of conservation
make a jump. When domino n − 1 hits n, its own angular of energy.
velocity is suddenly reduced, and that of n jumps to the We use Eq. 共31兲 to write the collision law 共30兲 as
nonzero value ␻n共0兲. The jumps in the angular velocity de-
crease in magnitude as the collisions propagate down the Īn共0兲␻n共0兲 = 共Īn共0兲 − 1兲␻n−1共␪c兲 = In−1共␪c兲␻n−1共␪c兲. 共34兲
train in such a way as to keep the dominoes in contact.
Therefore the impulses have to decrease to realize these We have added the last equality 共using Eq. 共A3兲兲 because it
jumps. For domino i the jump in angular velocity is leads to an equation of the same form as the conservation of
angular momentum with the effective angular moment of
⬘ 共0兲␻n共0兲 − ␺n−i−1
⌬␻i = ␺n−i ⬘ 共␪c兲␻n−1共␪c兲. 共26兲 inertia Īn. This moment of inertia is linked to the energy and
The first term is the angular velocity as calculated from n just not to the angular momentum. The angular momentum L̄n of
after the collision, and in the second it is calculated from n a train of moving dominoes up n is given by
− 1 just before the collision. For i = n the second term is ab-
sent and ␺0⬘ = 1. We denote the impulses by F: Domino i L̄n共␪n兲 = I 兺 ␺n−i
⬘ 共␪n兲␻n共␪n兲. 共35兲
receives −Fi from i + 1 and Fi−1 from i − 1. Again using New- i
ton’s third law we have Shaw4 assumed that angular momentum is conserved. Thus
⌬␻i = Fi−1ai−1 − Fibi . 共27兲 instead of Eq. 共30兲, he used the relation
Equation 共27兲 holds also for i = n with Fn = 0. For i = 1 we L̄n共0兲 = Ln−1共␪c兲. 共36兲
must set F0 = 0. The functions ai and bi are defined in Eq.
共19兲. The impulses Fi can be eliminated in the same way as Because L̄n共␪兲 / I ⬎ Īn共␪兲␻n共␪兲, the collision law 共36兲 leads to
before by multiplying the ith equation by rn−i共0兲 and sum- a larger propagation velocity than our collision law 共30兲. The
ming them. For the coefficient of ␻n共0兲 we obtain difference between Eqs. 共30兲 and 共36兲 follows from the dif-
ference between the moment arms ai and bi, which in turn is
兺i rn−i共0兲␺n−i
⬘ 共0兲 = 兺 r j共0兲␺⬘j 共0兲 = An共0兲,
j
共28兲 due to the fact that the two colliding dominoes do not rotate
around the same point. If ai were equal to bi, then all ri = 1
with An defined in Eq. 共25兲. For the coefficient of ␻n−1共␪c兲, and ␺i⬘ would have entered in Eq. 共29兲 to the first power as in
we find using Eq. 共A3兲 L̄n.
n−1 n−1 In contrast, Banks1 postulated conservation of linear mo-
兺
i=1
⬘ 共␪c兲 = 兺 rn−i共0兲␺n−i
rn−i共0兲␺n−i−1
i=1
⬘ 共0兲 mentum along the supporting table, which amounts to the
collision relation
n−1 ␻n共0兲 = cos ␪c␻n−1共␪c兲. 共37兲
= 兺 r j共0兲␺⬘j 共0兲 = An共0兲 − 1. 共29兲
j=1
The factor cos ␪c accounts for the horizontal component of
the linear momentum. This collision law gives a slower ve-
Thus, the final collision law reads locity because the 共omitted兲 collective effects speed up the
An共0兲␻n共0兲 = 关An共0兲 − 1兴␻n−1共␪c兲, 共30兲 domino effect.
Although the rotation is non-dissipative if friction is ne-
which expresses the initial value of ␻n共0兲 in terms of the glected, kinetic energy is dissipated in the collisions. Be-
value ␻n−1共␪c兲 of the preceding domino just before the col- cause we take the collisions as instantaneous, the potential
lision. energy is the same before and after the collision. Before the
collision the total kinetic energy equals
VI. CONSERVATION LAWS n−1 n−1
I I
The frictionless forces between the dominoes, as discussed K̄n−1共␪c兲 = 兺
2 i=1
␻2i = 兺 ␺n−1−i
2 i=1
⬘2 共␪c兲␻n−1
2
共␪c兲, 共38兲
in Sec. IV, conserve energy during the rotation. Note that the
recursion relation Eq. 共21兲 for r j is the same as that for the ␺⬘j and after the collision it equals

724 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 78, No. 7, July 2010 J. M. J. van Leeuwen 724
 Table II. The asymptotic propagation velocity 共with d / h = 0.179兲 for the collision law of Shaw 共Ref. 4兲 and for
various degrees of friction with the collision law in Eq. 共30兲. The last column gives the results according to the
collision law of Banks 共Ref. 1兲.

s/h Shawa Frictionless ␮ = 0.1 ␮ = 0.2 ␮ = 0.3 Banksb

0.1 3.64568 2.23469 1.82095 1.51695 1.28221 ¯

0.2 3.06742 1.95534 1.66019 1.43423 1.25452 ¯
0.3 2.74686 1.82515 1.56987 1.37279 1.21498 ¯
0.4 2.50849 1.74231 1.50459 1.32193 1.17605 0.70506
0.5 2.30183 1.67865 1.44771 1.27272 1.13420 0.91875
0.6 2.10337 1.62447 1.39204 1.22009 1.08609 0.97204
0.7 1.89899 1.57824 1.33347 1.15958 1.02745 0.95742
0.8 1.68680 1.53779 1.26196 1.07970 0.94711 0.89354
0.9 1.46454 1.47984 1.15267 0.95822 0.82681 0.76941
a
Reference 4.
b
Reference 1.

n n VIII. CALCULATIONS AND EXPERIMENTS

I I
K̄n共0兲 = 兺 ␻2i = 兺 ␺n−i
⬘2 共0兲␻2n共0兲.
2 i=1 2 i=1
We can rewrite these sums as in Eq. 共29兲 and then find using
Eqs. 共30兲 and 共31兲 that the ratio
K̄n共0兲 Īn共0兲 − 1
= 共40兲
K̄n−1共␪c兲 Īn共0兲
is always smaller than 1. For small separations many domi-
noes participate effectively in the train of falling dominoes,
which makes Īn共0兲 large and the transmission of kinetic en-
ergy effective. For large separations Īn共0兲 reaches its limiting
value equal to 2, and the kinetic energy is reduced by 1/2 in
each collision.
VII. FRICTION
After all this groundwork it is simple to introduce friction.
Let us start with the equation of motion 共18兲. Friction adds a
force parallel to the surface of i + 1. For the strength of the
friction force, we assume the law of Amonton–Coulomb,7
f friction = ␮ f ,
where f is the corresponding perpendicular force. The inclu-
sion of friction means that the coefficients ai and bi pick up
a frictional component. The associated torques follow from
the geometry in Fig. 1. The values of the ai and bi change to
ãi = h cos共␪i − ␪i+1兲 − 共s + d兲sin ␪i+1 − ␮d,
b̃i = h cos共␪i − ␪i+1兲 + ␮h sin共␪i − ␪i+1兲.
With these new moment arms, the calculation is essentially
reduced to the frictionless case discussed in Sec. IV. We may
eliminate the forces as before, which again leads to Eq. 共20兲,
but with coefficients r̃ j, which are expressed in terms of ã j
and b̃ j as in Eq. 共21兲, yielding a differential equation for ␻2n
as in Eq. 共24兲, with coefficients Ã, B̃, and C̃ defined with r̃ j
as in Eq. 共25兲.
The inclusion of friction in the collision law is simpler
because Eq. 共29兲 remains valid, with the definitions 共42兲 for
ãi, b̃i, and consequently r̃i.
共39兲
To calculate the domino effect, we have to solve three
equations repeatedly. We start with the initial rotation veloc-
ity ␻1共0兲 and 共1兲 solve Eq. 共24兲 for ␻i共␪兲 up to ␻i共␪c兲, 共2兲
simultaneously integrate Eq. 共15兲 for the duration ti, and 共3兲
use ␻i共␪c兲 and Eq. 共30兲 to find ␻i+1共0兲. We repeat this cycle
from i = 1 to a value where ti becomes constant, yielding the
asymptotic velocity vas of the domino effect. The approach is
fast due to the exponentially fast approach of ␪i to the stack-
ing angle ␪⬁, as Eq. 共5兲 shows. Therefore the region of fall-
ing dominoes is finite, separating the fallen dominoes from
the untouched ones.
In Table II we summarize the results for vas / 冑gh. The
thickness to height ratio is set to d / h = 0.179, which is stan-
dard for commercial dominoes and corresponds to values
used in experiments.3,8 The first column gives the separation
s / h, the second gives the velocity using Shaw’s collision law
共35兲, and the third gives the results for our Eq. 共30兲. In the
subsequent columns the influence of friction is shown. Note
that the reduction of the speed due to the change of the
collision law is larger than that of modest friction. The last
column gives the result for the collision law 共36兲 of Banks.1
These velocities are too small, given the fact that friction is
共41兲 absent. Moreover, there is a high threshold in separation for
the domino effect. In the approach of Banks it is given by the
difference in potential energy of an upright domino and a
domino that hits the next one at the angle ␪c,
PB = 1 − cos共␪c兲 − 共d/h兲sin共␪c兲 = 1 − 冑1 − 共s/h兲2 − ds/h2 ,
共43兲
共42兲
where the factor mgh / 2 is taken out as in Eq. 共2兲. It leads to
the threshold s ⬎ 2d / 共1 + 共d / h兲2兲, which is much higher than
our condition 共3兲. The reason is that after the collision, the
domino following the head is out of the game, while in the
collective treatment it keeps pushing. Dominoes with a finite
thickness initially increase their potential energy by rotating.
Banks ignored this potential barrier and treated the dominoes
as if d = 0. In this limit a more reasonable curve is obtained,
which Larham3 used to compare with his experiments.
In Fig. 2 we plot our curves for ␮ = 0.1 and ␮ = 0.2 to-
gether with experimental values. The value ␮ = 0.2 follows
from an estimate of the angle of the supporting table at
which dominoes start to slide over each other; it agrees with

725 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 78, No. 7, July 2010 J. M. J. van Leeuwen 725
 2
µ = 0.1
1.8
asymptotic velocity
1.6
1.4
1.2
1 P共h,d,s兲 Ī共0兲 − 1
0.8
µ = 0.2
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
separation s/h
Fig. 2. The asymptotic velocity vas / 冑gh for the aspect ratio d / h = 0.179. The
solid curves are for ␮ = 0.1 共highest兲 and ␮ = 0.2 共lowest兲. The experimental
values are from Ref. 3 共plusses兲, Ref. 5 共diamonds兲, and Ref. 8 共triangles兲.
the value given by Stronge and Shou.5 The value ␮ = 0.1
comes close to the experimental data of Larham and those of
Stronge and Shu.5 Stronge and Shu used thinner dominoes
共d / h = 0.12兲, but the differences between the theoretical
curves for d / h = 0.179 and d / h = 0.12 are too small to plot.
Those of McLachlan et al.8 are systematically lower and sug-
gest a somewhat larger friction. These authors also suggested
that the velocity diverges for small separations, which does
not occur for finite d, because the lower limit 共3兲 will be
approached where the domino effect runs out of fuel. We
found that the theoretical curve bends over sharply near the
threshold 共which is very low for d / h = 0.179兲. This bend-over
is more theoretical than practical because close to the thresh-
old, the first domino needs a large initial rotation to start the
domino effect to overcome the initial rise in potential energy.
Note that the domino effect still exists below the threshold of
Banks,1 which is a clear demonstration of the collective char-
acter of the domino effect.
IX. SIMPLIFICATIONS
With friction there is no way of calculating the propaga-
tion velocity other than numerical integration of the dynamic
equations.9 Without friction simplifications are possible,
which provide further insight in the domino effect. In the
frictionless case we can use Eq. 共13兲 instead of integrating
Eq. 共24兲 to find the ␪ dependence of ␻n. In Eq. 共34兲 we saw
how the collision law simplifies without friction. In addition,
we know that the stationary state does not depend on the
index n of the foremost moving domino. Then conservation
of energy during the rotation from ␪ = 0 to ␪ = ␪c can be used
in the form
␶2关Ī共␪兲␻2共␪c兲 − Ī共0兲␻2共0兲兴 = H̄n共0兲 − H̄n共␪c兲 = P共h,d,s兲.
共44兲
The left-hand side is the increase in kinetic energy, and the
absence of the index n indicates that the stationary state has
been reached. The right-hand side is the decrease in potential
energy. We cannot drop the index n on H̄n, because H̄n in-
creases with n, but the difference becomes independent of n,
as the second equality in Eq. 共44兲 indicates. This equality
726 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 78, No. 7, July 2010
follows by comparing both terms with H̄n+1共0兲. H̄n共0兲 is
smaller than H̄n+1共0兲 by one domino at the stacking angle,
and H̄n共␪c兲 is smaller than H̄n+1共0兲 by one domino in the
upright position. P共h , d , s兲 is the fuel of the domino effect
defined in Eq. 共2兲. Not surprisingly the fuel is consumed in
the collision, as the drop of the kinetic energy, following
from Eqs. 共38兲 and 共39兲, shows.
We solve Eqs. 共34兲 and 共44兲 for ␻共0兲 and ␻共␪c兲 and find
P共h,d,s兲 Ī共0兲
␻2共0兲 = , ␻ 2共 ␪ c兲 = .
␶2 ␶2 Ī共0兲 − 1
Ī共0兲
共45兲
1
Thus for a fully developed domino effect, the initial and final
angular velocities are explicitly known, and only the integra-
tion of Eq. 共14兲 has to be done. Equation 共45兲 shows that P is
the dominant influence on the magnitude of ␻. For small
separations many dominoes participate in the train, and Ī共0兲
is large and drops out. The minimum value for Ī共0兲 is 2 and
is reached for large separations. The fully developed domino
effect becomes more transparent by introducing the average
具␻典−1 = ␪−1
c 冕 ␪c
0
d␪
␻共␪兲
, 共46兲
with ␻共␪兲 as the solution of Eq. 共13兲. The value of the aver-
age 具␻典 is close to 冑P / ␶ because the integrand varies from a
value slightly larger than ␶ / 冑P to a value slightly less than
␶ / 冑P. Using this average in Eq. 共15兲 gives the asymptotic
velocity
具␻典␶
vas = 冑ghQ共h,d,s兲 共47兲
冑P共h,d,s兲 ,
where the factor Q is given by
Q共h,d,s兲 = 冉 3
1 + d2/h2
冊 1/2
共s + d兲冑P共h,d,s兲
h arcsin共s/h兲
. 共48兲
Q is the main factor that determines the dependence of the
velocity on the parameters of the problem. The fraction in
Eq. 共47兲 is a refinement that requires a detailed calculation.
We find that this fraction is almost independent of the aspect
ratio d / h and remains close to 1 for the major part of the
range of practical separations. Only near the already unwork-
able separation s / h = 0.9 does the value increase by about
10%.
X. DISCUSSION
We have derived a set of equations for the domino effect
of a row of equally spaced dominoes under the assumptions
that the dominoes only rotate and that they keep leaning onto
each other after a collision with the next one. The treatment
is close to that of Shaw,4 who introduced the constraint 共1兲,
which synchronizes the motion of the train of toppling domi-
noes. By analyzing the mutual forces between the dominoes,
we correct his collision law and also account for the effect of
friction between the dominoes. The correction of the colli-
sion law is more important than the influence of friction,
given the small friction coefficient between dominoes. Equa-
tions 共47兲 and 共48兲 display explicitly the main dependence of
J. M. J. van Leeuwen 726
the velocity on the parameters of the problem. The maximum
speed is close to the smallest separation 共see Eq. 共3兲兲 for
which the domino effect exists. Friction always slows down
the domino effect.
The domino effect produces an effectively non-dispersive,
localized, propagating wave. Therefore it shares some fea-
tures with a soliton wave: The constant propagation velocity
and the invariant wave profile. The main difference is that a
soliton is non-dissipative, while dissipation plays an impor-
tant role in the domino effect. Thus, while differing mecha-
nistically from other solitons, it is an interesting example of
similar behavior.
We have imposed for simplicity the bound 共4兲. It is not
very interesting to sort out what happens if Eq. 共4兲 is vio-
lated, as the no-slip condition becomes highly questionable
near this bound. For such wide separations the force on the
struck domino has hardly a torque to rotate it. As a practical
limitation we propose that the height of impact remains
above the center of mass of the struck domino. For an impact
below the center of mass, the domino would slip over the
table and topple over in the wrong direction. Insisting under
these circumstances on the no-slip condition becomes unre-
alistic. This criterion yields the bound for the separation
s / h ⬍ 冑3 / 2 = 0.87. Larham3 found the domino effect to dis-
tonically increase with increasing angle ␪n of the foremost
moving domino. So the functions ␺ j共␪兲 are monotonically
increasing functions. They become flatter with increasing in-
dex j and converge 共exponentially fast兲 to the value ␪⬁. All
the properties of the functions ␺ j共␪兲 are implied by the re-
cursion relation 共1兲 together with ␺0共␪兲 = ␪ 共by definition兲.
The recursion relation for ␺ j is obtained from Eq. 共1兲 by the
substitution ␪i = ␺n−i. We use it in the form
s+d d
sin关␺ j共␪兲 − ␺ j−1共␪兲兴 = cos ␺ j−1共␪兲 − . 共A1兲
h h
The functions are strongly interrelated. Not only can we cal-
culate ␪i from ␪n by ␺n−i, but ␪i follows also from an arbi-
trary intermediate ␪k by ␺k−i,
␺n−i共␪兲 = ␺k−i共␺n−k共␪兲兲, e.g. ␺ j共␪兲 = ␺ j−1共␺1共␪兲兲.
共A2兲
At the moment that domino n − 1 sets n into motion, it has
the angle ␪c. Thus ␺1共0兲 = ␪c, which implies
␺ j共0兲 = ␺ j−1共␺1共0兲兲 = ␺ j−1共␪c兲, 共A3兲
a property that will be used several times.
Differentiation of Eq. 共A1兲 with respect to ␪ yields

冉 冊
appear near this value.
共s + d兲sin ␺ j−1共␪兲
The assumption of fully elastic collisions would yield an ␺⬘j 共␪兲 = ␺⬘j−1共␪兲 1 − . 共A4兲
ever increasing velocity because there is no dissipation h cos关␺ j共␪兲 − ␺ j−1共␪兲兴
mechanism. In that case friction cannot play a role because
the dominoes only touch during the collision. Ethimiou and The relevance becomes evident when we express the right-
Johnson2 and Banks1 found a finite propagation speed with hand side in terms of the moment arms defined in Eq. 共19兲,
elastic collisions because they ignored the energy release of ␺⬘j = ␺⬘j−1共an−j/bn−j兲, 共A5兲
the dominoes behind the foremost moving one.
In the less extreme case of partially elastic collisions, the which implies that the frictionless forces conserve energy as
dominoes also rotate without permanent contact, but friction shown in Sec. VI. Another differentiation of Eq. 共A4兲 gives
can play a role during the collision. Stronge and Shu5 experi- the recursion relation between the second derivatives ␺⬙j . It
mented with dominoes with restitution coefficients of the can be cast into the form
order of 0.6. Thus, instead of leaning onto each other, there is an−j
a sequence of dying-out collisions between the dominoes ␺⬙j = ␺⬙j−1 + tan共␺ j − ␺ j−1兲关␺⬘j − ␺⬘j−1兴2
bn−j
like a ball bouncing on the floor. As their recordings show, it
is difficult to distinguish a sequence of rapidly dying out 共s + d兲cos ␺ j−1
collisions from the inelastic collisions obeying Eq. 共1兲. Note − 关 ␺ ⬘兴 2 . 共A6兲
h cos共␺ j − ␺ j−1兲 j
that friction adds to the validity of Eq. 共1兲, as can be checked
by pushing objects over tables with different friction coeffi- which is used in calculating Bn共␪兲 defined in Eq. 共25兲.
cients. The analysis of such frequently colliding dominoes is
difficult, but it may be interesting to analyze the sound pro- 1
Robert B. Banks, Towing Icebergs, Falling Dominoes and Other Adven-
duced by such a train of mutually bouncing dominoes for tures in Applied Mechanics 共Princeton U. P., Princeton, NJ, 1998兲.
dominoes with a very high restitution coefficient.3 2
C. J. Efthimiou and M. D. Johnson, “Domino waves,” SIAM Rev. 49,
The limit of thin dominoes d / h → 0 is an interesting theo- 111–120 共2007兲.
3
retical exercise, leading to an analytically solvable model R. Larham, “Validation of a model of the domino effect,”
with an explicit form for the shape of the domino effect.10 4
arXiv:0803.2898v1.
D. E. Shaw, “Mechanics of a chain of dominoes,” Am. J. Phys. 46,
640–642 共1978兲.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 5
W. J. Stronge and D. Shu, “The domino effect: Successive destabilization
by cooperative neighbours,” Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. A 418, 155–163
The author is indebted to Carlo Beenakker for drawing his 共1988兲.
attention to the problem, for supplying relevant literature, 6
Jearl Walker, “Deep think on dominoes falling in a row and leaning out
and for stimulating discussions. from the edge of a table,” Sci. Am. 251共8兲, 108–113 共1984兲.
7
See, for example, M. Alonso and E. J. Finn, Fundamental University
Physics, 2nd ed. 共Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1980兲, Vol. 1, p. 155.
APPENDIX: PROPERTIES OF THE ⌿ FUNCTIONS 8
B. G. McLachlan, G. Beaupre, A. B. Cox, and L. Gore, “Falling domi-
The ␺ j共␪兲 are defined on the interval 0 ⬍ ␪ ⬍ ␪c because ␪n noes,” SIAM Rev. 25, 403–404 共1983兲.
9
The code for calculating the velocity of the domino effect can be found
is restricted to this interval and ceases to be the foremost 共with or without friction兲 at 具www.lorentz.leidenuniv.nl/lunchcalc/
domino for larger values. The ␺ values are limited to 0 dominoes/典.
⬍ ␺ j共␪兲 ⬍ ␪⬁. Figure 1 shows that the tilt angles all mono- 10
J. M. J. van Leeuwen, “The domino effect,” arXiv:physics/0401018v1.

727 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 78, No. 7, July 2010 J. M. J. van Leeuwen 727