Earthquake Zone

I make a physical ramp out of stone situated on the ground. I make a long physical bar out of metal and rest it on the ramp stretching from the high end of the ramp to the low end of the ramp.

Well, "rest" is what I expected but not what I get. The ramp and the bar jiggle for about 15 seconds as if were an earthquake going on. Due to the vibration, the bar "walks" across the ramp to a random position other than I intended.

1) Anybody know where the vibration is coming from?

I also notice that when the ramp and the bar do finally stop vibrating, the bar is actually floating about 2 inches above the ramp.

2) Since both the ramp and the bar are physical objects, shouldn't the bar be making contact with the ramp?

Doubtless I'm missing some key element of dealing with physical objects but the LSL Wiki hasn't provided me with the clue I need.

Thanks in advance for any insight.

Cheers, Moose

The physics engine is an outdated, dying beast.

All physical prims don't have boundaries exactly as they're rendered, there's always some invisible space where their physical limits end.

Things tend to rattle around until they 'settle' (the physics engine ignores them) and stay this way until bumped again.

Overall, it's really hard to make intricate things involving physics.