Not sure if this question will make a lot of sense. Advance apologies. This question could be about many things, so here is a concrete example. Suppose we want to build a facsimile of one of these items (images borrowed from Uline):
How would one determine a safe distance that the "legs" need to extend horizontally away from the vertical "flat" (aka the length of the "legs")? Obviously, if they are an inch long, it will tip over, and if they are 20 feet long, it won't. But, what is the best practice for how to determine an appropriate safe length? From the physics of the situation, it would seem just that the base needs to be wider than the upright portion, but we all know that isn't true in practice because with very short legs one could very easily push the whole thing over accidentally by knocking into it slightly or attempting to move it (aka getting the center of gravity so it is no longer over the base). Further, we also all know that we would be much more comfortable with a wider base for a taller "flat" -- but is there a good rule of thumb to relate these two quantities?
P.S. One of the reasons for asking about a design like the one above is that you can't easily lower the center of gravity by making the bottom/legs super heavy -- many improbable-looking items like giant moveable orchestra shells can have super-tiny bases, but on inspection, the base is an order of magnitude heavier than the upright portion. Sure, the panel portion shown above likely weighs very little, but the center of gravity is still likely to be above the base.
How would one determine a safe distance that the "legs" need to extend horizontally away from the vertical "flat" (aka the length of the "legs")? Obviously, if they are an inch long, it will tip over, and if they are 20 feet long, it won't. But, what is the best practice for how to determine an appropriate safe length? From the physics of the situation, it would seem just that the base needs to be wider than the upright portion, but we all know that isn't true in practice because with very short legs one could very easily push the whole thing over accidentally by knocking into it slightly or attempting to move it (aka getting the center of gravity so it is no longer over the base). Further, we also all know that we would be much more comfortable with a wider base for a taller "flat" -- but is there a good rule of thumb to relate these two quantities?
P.S. One of the reasons for asking about a design like the one above is that you can't easily lower the center of gravity by making the bottom/legs super heavy -- many improbable-looking items like giant moveable orchestra shells can have super-tiny bases, but on inspection, the base is an order of magnitude heavier than the upright portion. Sure, the panel portion shown above likely weighs very little, but the center of gravity is still likely to be above the base.