What is "snowball effect"

n. An accelerating growth of magnitude, including fame, fortune, importance, or danger.

Metaphorically, a snowball effect is a process that starts from an initial state of small significance and builds upon itself, becoming larger (graver, more serious), and also perhaps potentially dangerous or disastrous (a vicious circle, a "spiral of decline"), though it might be beneficial instead (a virtuous circle). This is a very common cliché in cartoons and modern theatrics and it is also used in psychology.

The common analogy is with the rolling of a small ball of snow down a snow-covered hillside. As it rolls the ball will pick up more snow, gaining more mass and surface area, and picking up even more snow and momentum as it rolls along.

In aerospace engineering, it is used to describe the multiplication effect in an original weight saving. A reduction in the weight of the fuselage will require less lift, meaning the wings can be smaller. Hence less thrust is required and therefore smaller engines, resulting in a greater weight saving than the original reduction. This iteration can be repeated several times, although the decrease in weight for each iteration decreases.

The startup process of a feedback electronic oscillator, when power to the circuit is switched on, is a technical application of the snowball effect. Electronic noise is amplified by the oscillator circuit and returned to its input filtered to contain primarily the selected (desired) frequency, gradually getting stronger in each cycle, until a steady-state oscillation is established, when the circuit parameters satisfy the Barkhausen stability criterion.

Snowball effect is a figurative term.

Snowball effect may also refer to:

• Snowball Effect, an equity crowdfunding platform in New Zealand
• "Snowball Effect", a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season three
• Snowball Effect ISP, an Internet service provider in South Africa

Snowball Effect is a New Zealand-based equity crowdfunding platform, that enables New Zealand companies to offer shares to members of the public. The company was founded in 2012 and launched in August 2014, after being one of the first to acquire licensing from the Financial Markets Authority. over NZ$8.2 million has been raised on the platform.