B Why do objects break? (in the case of a body at rest on a surface)

[Dark85]

TL;DR

I believe objects breaking ultimately has to do with the electrostatic force

Hey everyone,
I need confirmation for my understanding of why objects break
Consider a body lying at rest on a tabletop on earth's surface. As gravity pulls on it, the body compresses the atoms below which get closer together but due to electrostatic forces and the Pauli exclusion they repel each other and this is what gives rise to the normal force. But if the object is heavy enough gravity and the repulsive forces in the direction of gravity win which is why when the surface breaks, it breaks downwards.

 

[.Scott]

You are describing something being compressed until it distorts.
Let's build our table top from four hefty wooden poles aligned vertically (the legs) and one flat piece sitting on those poles (the table top itself). On the table top, we will place a load. In order for the table to remain standing, the table top must deliver the load to the legs. The table top has thickness, and as the load increases its surface compresses but the lower surface of the table top is stretched and strained. Finally, the strained lower surface will break apart in a sideways motion. This allows the table top to either fully break or deform. In both cases, the load will drop and the legs will no longer be supporting it.

 

[osilmag]

I think Young's Modulus addresses this topic.

https://sciencenotes.org/youngs-modulus-formula-and-example/