• Question: if a person is trapped in a black hole what may happen?

    Asked by mairrax to Anne, Beth, COLFlight, Jon, Tom on 9 Oct 2015. This question was also asked by 11CSpaldingHS, Dannie.H.
    • Photo: Jonathan Scott

      Jonathan Scott answered on 9 Oct 2015:


      The first thing that happens is that they disappear from view. The gravity inside a black hole is so strong that even light cannot escape, which is why they appear black – the person would will be there you just couldm’t see them.

      Assuming the person goes in feet first, the next thing to happen would be that they would get stretched as the gravity in the middle of the black hole is ever stronger than on the edge, so their feet would would pulled away from their head – this is called spaghettification or the “noodle effect”. Not too much fun…

      Finally, in the very middle of the black hole, the person would reach something called a singularity where the gravity is so strong it crushes everything completely, and the mass of the person is added to the mass of the black hole – so if the person weighted 75kg then the black hole would get 75 kg heavier.

      And that, as they say, would be the end of that!

    • Photo: Beth Healey

      Beth Healey answered on 16 Oct 2015:


      Hi mairrax,

      Jon has described it really well so I don’t have anything to add!

      In summary they wouldn’t last very long!! 😉

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