Why Supermassive Black Holes Are Actually Safe

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Donate to FarmKind at https://www.farmkind.giving/physicsexplained and get a 50% boost on your donation! Even a small contribution can help improve the lives of farmed animals. https://www.youtube.com/@PhysicsExplainedVideos?sub_confirmation=1 What would really happen if you fell into a black hole? Would you be stretched into spaghetti — or glide silently through the event horizon? In this video, we explore the terrifying physics of tidal forces and discover why the smallest black holes are actually the deadliest. Using nothing more than high-school physics and a touch of calculus, we’ll uncover why supermassive black holes like M87*, containing billions of Suns, are strangely gentle, while a tiny stellar-mass black hole would tear you apart long before you reached the horizon. It’s not the strength of gravity that kills you — it’s how sharply it changes from your head to your feet. References and Resources: M. Walach, Z. Rogerson, E. J. Watkinson, D. Staab — “The Tide is High but I am still Short,” Journal of Physics Special Topics, P2_8, University of Leicester (2012). Stylianos V. Kontomaris & Anna Malamou — “A Presentation of the Black Hole Stretching Effect,” Biomedical Optics and Applied Biophysics Laboratory, National Technical University of Athens (2022). Jorge Pinochet — “The Little Robot, Black Holes, and Spaghettification,” Physics Education 57, 045008 (2022). Solutions to Homework #6, AST 203 (Spring 2009) — Princeton University. Support the channel: Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/physicsexplained Follow me: Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/physics_explained_ig X (Twitter) → https://twitter.com/PhysicsExplain1