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Let $x$ be the downward displacement of $M$ from its initial position just beyond the table edge. The smaller mass moves towards the edge by the same distance, and the hanging chain length is $x$. All the chain and both endpoint masses move at speed $\dot{x}$, so their total moving mass is $\mathcal{M}=M+m+\rho L$. The hanging chain's gravitational potential energy, relative to the initial configuration, is $-\rho g{x}^2/2$. Thus the Lagrangian for the chain sliding over a table edge isThe Euler-Lagrange equation gives $\mathcal{M}\ddot{x}=g(M+\rho x)$. Put $\Omega =\sqrt{\rho g/\mathcal{M}}$. With $x(0)=\dot{x}(0)=0$, the solution isThese are also the smaller mass's displacement and speed towards the edge. The formula applies until $M$ reaches the floor, at $t_f={\Omega }^{-1}\mathrm{arcosh}(1+\rho y/M)$. Since $y<L$, the smaller mass has not yet reached the edge during this interval. As $\rho \to 0$, the result tends to $x=Mg{t}^2/[2(M+m)]$, as expected for a massless connector.

Let the spring's spring constant be $k$, and write its extension as $e_0+x$, allowing for an initial extension $e_0$. The new Lagrangian isThe specified equilibrium is $x_e=y-y_1$, with $k(e_0+x_e)=g(M+\rho x_e)$. Put $\xi =x-x_e$; the equation becomesThe spring-stabilized chain over a table edge oscillates only when $k>\rho g$. More hanging chain increases its own gravitational pull, reducing the effective restoring stiffness. The equilibrium height alone does not determine $k$ without information about the spring's natural length or preload.