Question

Describe, in detail, what would happen if you fell into a black hole, from both your perspective, and the perspective of someone who is watching you fall in. You should include specific effects, including effects on space, time, and what you would see.

Answer 1

It's safe to say you wouldn't survive the trip, so stay on this side of the Event Horizon if you ever want to be seen again.

Black Holes are massive objects occupying a tiny volume in space. When a super-massive star (many times larger than the Sun) stops sustaining enough nuclear fusion at its core to support its size, its mass may collapse into itself and form a Black Hole, sucking in everything around it. Our Milky Way galaxy spirals around a super-massive Black Hole at its center.

Since nothing can escape from the incredible gravitational pull of a Black Hole (even light itself), scientists can only speculate on what would happen to a person falling into a Black Hole. However, it does seem evident that the crushing gravity would not be kind to your body. Soon after passing the Event Horizon, the point of no return, your body's atomic structure would be ripped apart. The parts of your body closer to the singularity experience a stronger gravitational pull than the parts of your body further away from the singularity. This "tidal gravity" creates a differential gravitational pull on your body that literally stretches you out as you fall in. Alas, the rack of space-time is unforgiving to even the most pliant mind, and ultimately it's impossible to keep yourself together.