<p>If an elephant jumped into a black hole would it ever splatter on the surface of the black hole? Or would it continue to fall indefinitely?</p>
<p>I think the elephant would continue to fall away from objects outside the black hole, while never reaching the surface of the black hole. The surface of the black hole, being the matter that originally created it, would be infinitely falling at a rate that would never allow the elephant to collide.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-14T00:02:40.663Z
Hi! What do you think? What do you mean by "surface of the black hole?"
Daddy Kropotkin
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-14T00:25:41.303Z
@Daddy Kropotin I think the elephant would continue to fall away from objects outside the black hole while never reaching the surface of the black hole. The surface of the black hold being the matter that originally created it would be infinitely falling at a rate that would never allow the elephant to collide.
Norman Potts
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-14T00:27:45.217Z
A black hole doesn't *have* a physical surface. It has an event horizon, but that's just a mathematical surface, like the Equator on the Earth is a mathematical curve.
PM 2Ring
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-14T00:32:33.617Z
Hi, here's the outcome with a person falling into a black hole - although not an elephant, I think their fates would be similar. According to [NASA](https://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov/blackh/4Page33.pdf), "A human falling into a black hole will [also] experience tidal forces. In most cases these will be lethal! The difference in acceleration between the head and feet could be many thousands of Earth Gravities. A person would literally be pulled apart! Some physicists have termed this process spaghettification!"
AdiBak
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-14T00:32:58.507Z
From the perspective of a distant observer, the elephant would never cross the EH (event horizon). From the perspective of the elephant, it'd cross the EH in finite time, and reach the centre of the black hole shortly thereafter. There are numerous questions about this on the Physics site, eg https://physics.stackexchange.com/q/21319/123208 https://physics.stackexchange.com/q/5031/123208
PM 2Ring
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-08-14T00:35:07.183Z
You can calculate various things about (non-rotating) black holes here: https://www.vttoth.com/CMS/physics-notes/311-hawking-radiation-calculator
PM 2Ring
<black-hole>
Would an object falling into a black hole ever collide with the surface of the black hole?
Norman Potts
# Would an object falling into a black hole ever collide with the surface of the black hole?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-08-13)

If an elephant jumped into a black hole would it ever splatter on the surface of the black hole? Or would it continue to fall indefinitely?

I think the elephant would continue to fall away from objects outside the black hole, while never reaching the surface of the black hole. The surface of the black hole, being the matter that originally created it, would be infinitely falling at a rate that would never allow the elephant to collide.

**Tags:** black-hole

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Hi! What do you think? What do you mean by "surface of the black hole?"  
> **username_0**: @Daddy Kropotin I think the elephant would continue to fall away from objects outside the black hole while never reaching the surface of the black hole. The surface of the black hold being the matter that originally created it would be infinitely falling at a rate that would never allow the elephant to collide.  
> **username_2**: A black hole doesn't *have* a physical surface. It has an event horizon, but that's just a mathematical surface, like the Equator on the Earth is a mathematical curve.  
> **username_3**: Hi, here's the outcome with a person falling into a black hole - although not an elephant, I think their fates would be similar. According to [NASA](https://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov/blackh/4Page33.pdf), "A human falling into a black hole will [also] experience tidal forces. In most cases these will be lethal! The difference in acceleration between the head and feet could be many thousands of Earth Gravities. A person would literally be pulled apart! Some physicists have termed this process spaghettification!"  
> **username_2**: From the perspective of a distant observer, the elephant would never cross the EH (event horizon). From the perspective of the elephant, it'd cross the EH in finite time, and reach the centre of the black hole shortly thereafter. There are numerous questions about this on the Physics site, eg https://physics.stackexchange.com/q/21319/123208 https://physics.stackexchange.com/q/5031/123208  
> **username_2**: You can calculate various things about (non-rotating) black holes here: https://www.vttoth.com/CMS/physics-notes/311-hawking-radiation-calculator  

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