Microgravity

When the gravitational field is non-uniform, a body in free fall experiences tidal forces and is not stress-free. Near a black hole, such tidal effects can be very strong, leading to spaghettification. In the case of the Earth, the effects are minor, especially on objects of relatively small dimensions (such as the human body or a spacecraft) and the overall sensation of weightlessness in these cases is preserved. This condition is known as microgravity, and it prevails in orbiting spacecraft. Microgravity environment is more or less synonymous in its effects, with the recognition that gravitational environments are not uniform and g-forces are never exactly zero.