Spaghettification is the dramatic effect of tidal forces near a black hole, where objects are stretched lengthwise and compressed sideways as they fall toward the singularity. This process is informally known as the “noodle effect”, because the object is pulled into a thin, elongated shape—like spaghetti.
This occurs because gravity increases sharply with decreasing distance from the black hole. For example, if you fell feet-first into a black hole, the gravitational pull on your feet would be significantly stronger than on your head, stretching you vertically. At the same time, your body would be squeezed from the sides due to compression in the perpendicular direction.
Spaghettification is most intense near small black holes, where the gravitational gradient is steep. For supermassive black holes, the tidal forces at the event horizon can be relatively mild, and you might cross it without immediate destruction—though eventual disintegration is still certain deeper inside.
This extreme stretching vividly illustrates how intense gravitational fields warp space and affect matter, especially in the most hostile regions of the universe.