What is Tidal forces?

Tidal forces are like when one big friend pulls harder on one side of you than the other, making things stretch or squish a little.

Imagine you're holding onto two balloons with string. Now, your best friend comes running and grabs one balloon really tight. The other balloon feels like it’s being pulled apart because your friend is holding onto one end so strongly. That's tidal forces in action!

The Moon does something similar to Earth. It pulls on the side of Earth that faces it, making the ocean bulge out a bit, like a big wave. On the opposite side of Earth, the pull is weaker, so that ocean also bulges, but from being stretched apart. That’s why we get tides, the ocean going up and down twice a day.

Bigger friends (or bigger objects) can create stronger tidal forces. For example, if you have two balloons and your best friend is super strong, they’ll pull the balloons apart more than if your little brother pulled them. Just like how the Moon pulls Earth’s oceans, and sometimes even affects our bodies a tiny bit too!