In relation to two previous discussions about Newtonian mechanics first asked by esdoublef Free body diagram on a rack of wooden blocks and afterwards silverrahul, Horizontal Rack of blocks revisited a.k.a. if it were on top of lava, which block would you choose to stand on?, I now would like to propose a new question relating to the two studies.
As discussed previosuly, Pavlo. B. (https://physics.stackexchange.com/a/630913/307029) identified two main types of instability; friction stability and torque stability, of which frictional forces acting on the blocks decrease symettrically moving closer to the center block(s) and thus standing in the middle is safer since the demand of frictional force is smallest at the center whereas torque stability depends on the location in which additional weight is added to the blocks and thus standing closer to the edges is safer.
However,what would happen if the blocks are replaced by just one big, rectangular mass? Would we still need to consider rotational equilibrium? I feel that it is unlikely the case. Nevertheless, what would the implications be? Would the blocks require a smaller amount of inward force applied in order to hold the "bridge" up?
