• Question: Hi. I wanted to know how strong the gravitational pull of a black hole was. p.s. David I hope the the odds are ever in your favour ;)

    Asked by OlliDreams18 to David on 16 Nov 2015.
    • Photo: David Nunan

      David Nunan answered on 16 Nov 2015:

      Hey,

      The simple answer is it depends on how close you are to it.

      As you get closer and closer to the black hole, you’ll feel the tug more and more. As you get very close, the difference in gravity between your head and your feet will be so great that you’ll be stretched out like a piece of chewing gum in a process scientists call “spaghettification”!

      As you fall deeper towards the black hole, the force of gravity approaches infinity. Weird things happen to time after this point, and you would have already died from your approach, but the math says once you’re there it’s all over. You’ll be smooshed down to densities that are difficult to imagine. A very very long time later, as the black hole evaporates, you’ll be burped out as little tiny particles here and there.

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