What would happen if someone was sucked into a black hole?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the hypothetical scenario of what happens when a person is sucked into a black hole, exploring various aspects such as tidal forces, the nature of event horizons, and the implications of different black hole sizes. It includes theoretical considerations, speculative ideas, and questions about the nature of black holes.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that the effects of being sucked into a black hole depend on its size, with small black holes causing spaghettification due to tidal forces before reaching the event horizon.
  • Others argue that a very large black hole might allow a person to cross the event horizon without immediate destruction, although the experience would still be strange.
  • There is a discussion about the concept of spaghettification, defined as being stretched into a thin string due to tidal forces.
  • Some participants introduce holographic theory, proposing that black holes may not have an inside and that crossing the event horizon could result in becoming part of the black hole's surface, though this is noted as speculative.
  • Concerns are raised about the current understanding of black holes, with some participants stating that the physics involved is baffling and that definitive answers are lacking.
  • Questions are posed about the fate of Earth if a black hole were to enter the solar system, as well as the nature and creation of black holes.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the effects of crossing the event horizon based on black hole size, and there is no consensus on the implications of holographic theory or the overall understanding of black holes.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight the need for careful definitions and considerations of general relativity effects, indicating that the discussion is complex and nuanced.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in theoretical physics, black hole phenomena, and speculative astrophysics may find this discussion relevant.

  • #31
someGorilla said:
I guess this idea comes from the fact that free fall maximizes proper time. But it doesn't apply here! Free fall from A to B (points in spacetime) is the longest path between A and B, but if you fire your rockets you will land in C (elsewhere on the singularity).

This paper is interesting: http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/0705/0705.1029v1.pdf

Thanks for the reference. It completely contradicts the statement that we've been discussing and to me sounds MUCH more reasonable than that statement.
 
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  • #32
Antiphon said:
We'll never answer these questions until we send in a probe with a high-def camera and a scooper to retrieve core samples.

Yes, even light can't get out once you fall in; so we'll just lower half the probe through the event horizon then pull the data back up through ultrasonic waves on the tether.

I can't tell whether your statement was tongue in cheek or unwitting nonsense. Care to comment?
 
  • #33
phinds said:
Thanks for the reference. It completely contradicts the statement that we've been discussing and to me sounds MUCH more reasonable than that statement.

well, it doesn't completely contradict it. If you start from rest at the event horizon, freefall still gives the longest possible time, and any acceleration will make it worse.
 
  • #34
Some physicists have theorized that black holes are actually gateways to strange other dimensions, is there any evidence of that?
 
  • #35
Kutt said:
Some physicists have theorized that black holes are actually gateways to strange other dimensions, is there any evidence of that?

So, I take it the article itself, which I did not read, must contradict the summary paragraph, which I did read, which says pointedly:

In general, the use of such rockets can increase your remaining time, but only up to a maximum value; this is at odds with the “more you struggle, the less time you have” statement that is sometimes discussed in relation to black holes.
 
  • #36
Kutt said:
Some physicists have theorized that black holes are actually gateways to strange other dimensions, is there any evidence of that?
That would be a "no, there is no evidence that some physicists have theorized that Black Holes are actually gateways to strange other dimensions." Whatever that is supposed to mean.

This question is actually answered more completely in many of the references already provided to you. If you are not going to read the replies, why should anyone bother replying?
 
  • #37
Which means this is a good time to end this.
 

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