Placing a cell phone, laptop or any similar object onto a table (in example) via ELEVATION, swallows the object into the table top, no matter the elevation. The small object simply falls INTO the table top instead of on top of it.
This is very noticeable with small items, as they just... disappear into the larger object (table, bench etc etc). In the case of trying to place a very tiny object like a compass, it will simply fall all of the way through to the ground.