chain reaction

Because of the interconnectedness of an ecosystem, when any species is thrown off balance, the whole system is weakened and a chain reaction of failures is set in motion.

About 200 miles from Otsuchi, the nuclear plant’s operators spent the night of the tsunami working frantically in pitch-black control rooms desperately trying to stop a chain reaction that was spinning out of control.

Understanding this chain reaction offers crucial insight into why Antarctic ice sheets may be inherently unstable, both in the distant past and in the modern era.

The victory of Haiti’s enslaved people over France won independence for that nation in 1804, setting a series of chain reactions in motion.

The resumption of such tests "could trigger a chain reaction of nuclear testing by US adversaries, and blow apart the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty," Kimball said.