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Re: Black Holes and tidal forces



Tina,
It is the gradient of the gravitational force
that is important. Consider going in feet first.
For a small black hole the force on your feet is
much larger that on your head. Plus if you are in
a circular orbit, the orbital velocity and force
associated with orbiting change quickly with
radius for small holes.

Thanks
Roger Haar

********************************************************************
Tina Fanetti wrote:

Okay, so I am reading about black holes and how your typical small black hole has tidal forces that would rip you to shreds. It goes on to say that it would have been better to find a supermassive black hole because you would have survived crossing the event horizon. Although all black holes have the same gravitational force at the event horizon, for a supermassive black hole, the tidal forces are weaker and therefore non-lethal because of the size.

I don't get this. If the gravitational force is the same, wouldnt the tidal forces be the same and still rip you to shreds?

Thanks
Tina

Tina Fanetti
Physics Instructor
Western Iowa Technical Community College
4647 Stone Ave
Sioux City IA 51102
712-274-8733 ext 1429