Marcus Garfunkel

Ubiquiti Networks' consumer technology brand, Ubiquiti Labs, began making a name for itself in late 2016 with the launch of the AmpliFi HD Wi-Fi Mesh Router. Similar to other mesh systems, the AmpliFi HD comes with a centralized router and two "MeshPoints" that provide blanket Wi-Fi coverage throughout a home, but Ubiquiti Labs' device is unique thanks to its circular, full-color touchscreen on the main unit.


Ubiquiti Labs began expanding its product lineup this fall, in October announcing the AmpliFi Instant and in November revealing the AmpliFi Gamer's Edition. The former router is a pared down version of the AmpliFi HD with a smaller size and miniaturized capacitive grayscale touchscreen, while the latter option is essentially the AmpliFi HD with low latency support, WAN quality-of-service features, and other additions aimed at users who play a lot of online games. Each router features 802.11ac with self-configuring, dual-band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz Wi-Fi radios.

Over the past few months, I've been relying solely on Ubiquiti Labs' trio of mesh routers for all of my internet needs, with the majority of my time spent using the AmpliFi Instant and AmpliFi HD routers. In my time with the routers I've yet to find any real flaws or noticeable drawbacks to using AmpliFi, and as someone who has been researching mesh networks for years but was too inundated with various options to make a decision, I can say that the AmpliFi routers are a great option for anyone looking to transition away from a single router system and into mesh.

Setup

Although the AmpliFi Instant, AmpliFi HD, and AmpliFi Gamer's Edition differ in a few design aspects, their setup processes are essentially identical.

The Routers

One of the big selling points for the entire AmpliFi lineup -- but particularly for the AmpliFi Instant -- is a quick and simple setup process that takes just a few minutes. I was wary of this promise, particularly given that I was switching over from a 2011 AirPort Extreme Base Station and had never installed a mesh network.


I had nothing to worry about, because all three routers lived up to the promise and I had my internet set up on AmpliFi's technology in well under four minutes on all occasions (Ubiquiti Labs advertises a two minute setup time, but with the MeshPoints and account creation, there are a few added steps beyond the router). I was particularly impressed with the AmpliFi Instant, which was the first of the company's devices I installed coming off of Apple's AirPort router.

Before I unplugged the AirPort I made a note of my SSID and network password, which I eventually used on the new routers. When switching to a new router, if you keep these two pieces of information the exact same, the transition process should largely be painless for all of the various devices -- particularly HomeKit products -- connected to your network.


With the AirPort unplugged and my modem powered down, I connected an Ethernet cable (included with all AmpliFi routers) from the modem to the blue-labeled Internet port on the central Instant router. Next I plugged in the power adapter to the router, powered on my modem, and downloaded AmpliFi's iOS app to finish setup.

In the app, I connected to the AmpliFi Instant and then named my Wi-Fi network and created a password (maintaining my previous SSID and Wi-Fi password). The last bits of the setup process include updating the router itself if the device isn't up-to-date, and then creating an AmpliFi account, or using a pre-existing Facebook or Google account to connect to AmpliFi.

The MeshPoints

To add MeshPoints onto an AmpliFi router, the process is as easy as router setup. For AmpliFi Instant, I placed the MeshPoint (which is the exact same size and design of the router) in my bedroom, with about two rooms and a few walls between it and the main router. After it was plugged in, I searched for a new MeshPoint in the app, synced to it, renamed it, and the app confirmed it was synced with a 100% "Great" signal strength rating.


Although the MeshPoints' design is vastly different for the AmpliFi HD and AmpliFi Gamer's Edition, setup is the same. Overall, for both the main routers and MeshPoint extenders, I had no issues or frustrations with AmpliFi's setup process. The company avoids lengthy, complex literature in its retail boxes for to-the-point flash cards with straightforward steps, and its iOS app provides similarly clear language on what you need to be doing at any point in the setup process.

Daily Use

Although performance largely stayed the same across routers, the way you interact with AmpliFi Instant and AmpliFi HD/Gamer's Edition does change thanks to the different hardware designs.

AmpliFi Instant

With a footprint of just 3.92" x 3.85" (and 1.30" tall), AmpliFi Instant is a tiny, palm-sized router that easily fit into the cabinet in my living room where I previously set my AirPort Extreme. Ubiquiti Labs encourages customers to place their routers out in the open, however, and I actually wasn't opposed to this idea. The sleek white, plastic body of the router fits well into any modern design aesthetic, and the MeshPoint is essentially the exact same dimension and design.


On the front of the router is a 1.21" diagonal display that can show the date and time, upload and download data (GB), upload and download speeds (Mbps), and which back ports are in use. You can switch these screens by swiping your finger left and right on the inch-long touchscreen. I liked the idea of this, but from any distance farther than a few feet you can't really see what is displayed on the router. So, if you aren't placing the AmpliFi Instant within touching distance, you won't get much use out of the screen.

The Instant Router also lights up along the bottom edges with a white LED, which gives the device a dramatic lighting effect on a bookshelf or entertainment center, and this LED also acts as a network status indicator. A Night Mode in the iOS app can be set up to automatically turn this light on and off at set times, and I had a few problems getting this to work on the Instant Router's MeshPoint, although it worked as expected on the router itself. I eventually just turned off the LED completely on the MeshPoint (which was in my bedroom), and I found this to be the best option.


The main issue I had with the AmpliFi Instant Router was its port selection: the router has two Ethernet ports (one for Internet access to your modem) and the MeshPoint has one Ethernet port. While an Ethernet port on the MeshPoint extender is a nice bonus for hardwiring into your Internet even when you're not near the main router, having one available Ethernet port on the central device was just not enough for my setup. I typically hardwire my PS4, Apple TV 4K, and Philips Hue hub into my router; with AmpliFi Instant I had to choose Philips Hue since it must be connected directly to the router to work, and went back to a Wi-Fi connection for the other devices.

Things still ran smoothly on my PS4 and Apple TV 4K when wirelessly connected to the AmpliFi Instant, although lag was still an occasional reality in games like Overwatch on PS4. I really noticed how much better the AmpliFi Instant was in my apartment when I moved into the bedroom and office. Whereas on AirPort Extreme I could barely load a YouTube video in my bedroom, or maintain an HD stream on Apple TV in my office, the AmpliFi MeshPoint was an immediate lifesaver.


In my bedroom, download speeds jumped from 27.1 Mbps on AirPort Extreme to 110 Mbps on AmpliFi Instant. As far as possible from the router, in my office download speeds increased from 16.3 Mbps on AirPort Extreme to 107 Mbps on AmpliFi Instant. All-in-all, I found AmpliFi Instant to perform as well as it says on the box, providing me with consistent, super-fast Wi-Fi in every corner of my ~1,200 sq ft apartment (Ubiquiti Labs says the Instant can cover a home as large as 4,000 sq ft).

AmpliFi HD

Still, I play enough PS4 to prefer having a dedicated hardwire connection to my router, so after about a week of using the Instant, I switched out to the AmpliFi HD Router, which has four total Ethernet ports and even one USB-A port.

The HD is an upgrade from the Instant in a number of ways: it has Tri-Polarity Dual-Band Antennas for omnidirectional signal output, a larger 212 ppi color touch screen, 3x3 MIMO instead of the Instant's 2x2 MIMO, and a boost to 2.4 GHz (450 Mbps, up from 300 Mbps on Instant) and 5.0 GHz (1,300 Mbps, up from 867 Mbps on Instant) band speeds.


I used the AmpliFi HD Router for all of November, and it's quickly become my favorite of Ubiquiti Labs' routers. Hardwire connections to my PS4 and Apple TV 4K were expectedly consistent, and the two extra MeshPoints included in the AmpliFi HD Mesh Wi-Fi System starter kit ensured absolutely no dead spots in my apartment.

These MeshPoints are designed much differently than the Instant's simple white box, and are long, rectangular accessories that connect directly into an available outlet. The top of the MeshPoint connects to the pronged adapter port with a metallic ball, which allows you to angle the MeshPoint in the perfect orientation to find the home base router and ensure a better signal.

I placed one MeshPoint in my bedroom and one in my office, and turned the front-facing LED (displaying signal strength) on the bedroom MeshPoint off, since it was pretty bright in the dark. I preferred the design of these MeshPoints to the Instant's simple box because they didn't require any extra bookshelf or tabletop space, and the ability to angle them towards the main router for a better signal was really useful. The downside to these MeshPoints was the lack of any additional ports, like Ethernet.


Download speeds were slightly better than the AmpliFi Instant, but the two routers were still so close that the ultimate quality of the Wi-Fi was nearly indistinguishable during normal web usage.

In my bedroom using AmpliFi HD, I recorded download speeds at 114 Mbps, and in my office speeds reached 111 Mbps. For both AmpliFi Instant and HD, speeds hit just under 120 Mbps in my living room, where they were both placed. Of course, internet speed tests fluctuate constantly and these numbers are not definitive measurements, but they do give a good view of the reliability of AmpliFi.


In 30 days of usage, I never had any issues with my internet or spotty connections, although I wasn't able to test the absolute boundaries of the router at 5,000 sq ft. Still, I can easily see any of Ubiquiti Labs' routers working for large-scale homes, although more MeshPoints would likely need to be purchased separately.


The AmpliFi HD's display is also visually eye-catching and more handy than the Instant's 1-inch display. I stored the router in a glass cabinet under my TV, so I wasn't interacting with the screen with regularity, but the one-tap responses were always reliable, and the data you can choose to display is great for anyone interested in keeping a watchful eye on their internet data cap.

I left mine on the upload/download graph, but even with a simple 12 or 24-hour format digital clock you can make AmpliFi HD blend easily into a bookshelf or entertainment center. I sit about 5-6 feet away from the router and can easily read the display, so the AmpliFi HD is also better suited for at-a-distance glances than AmpliFi Instant.

AmpliFi Gamer's Edition

Lastly, the AmpliFi Gamer's Edition is largely the same product as the AmpliFi HD Router, but with a few design tweaks, hardware updates, and software additions aimed at gamers. The most obvious change is the black paint job and green tint in the UI on the circular display, switched from the all-white color of the AmpliFi HD and its blue UI shadings. The Gamer's Edition keeps the same matte finish on the router and MeshPoints, which gives each device a great, premium feel.


Setup was completely the same as the AmpliFi HD, but this process is where you'll see another major difference: the MeshPoints. Ubiquiti Labs updated these in the Gamer's Edition Router -- instead of a break-apart metallic ball and gimbal system, the black Gamer's Edition MeshPoints are one unibody piece of hardware.


You can still angle them to find the best signal for each MeshPoint, however, thanks to their ability to rotate 270 degrees when plugged into a wall outlet. I did find that the unibody MeshPoints left less room for the second outlet, and I had to somewhat force the plug for my Dyson fan to fit below the Gamer's Edition MeshPoint, but it did eventually work. The AmpliFi HD MeshPoints don't have this problem.


Otherwise, the two routers have similar specs with the same dimensions, weight, dual-band antennas, color touch display, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and 3x3 MIMO. The biggest addition to the Gamer's Edition is a quality-of-service mode, which lets you specify whether you want your network to be optimized for latency (decreasing latency for competitive online games) or throughput (reducing download speeds, increasing latency), a feature developed through a partnership between Ubiquiti Labs and NVIDIA.

The throughput option is essentially on par with the basic settings of the AmpliFi HD, while the latency tuning is the big new feature here for gamers. Although optimizing latency over throughput theoretically should reduce overall network ping, I never saw these features reflected in any of my games to a noticeable degree. Games of Overwatch (on PS4 via wired Ethernet) were stable and haven't lagged throughout my ownership of the Gamer's Edition Router, but the same can be said for AmpliFi HD.


If the ping was slightly better every now and then, it was a largely unnoticeable improvement that didn't directly impact my matches. Another very minor change in between routers is the Gamer's Edition inclusion of a flat Ethernet cable, which I preferred to traditional cables since it made cable organization much easier.

The router is really aimed at gamers who use services like NVIDIA’s GeForce NOW Cloud Gaming platform, which lets users stream games hosted on NVIDIA's servers for a monthly fee, similar to what Netflix does for movies and TV. Due to the interactivity video games require, an optimized local network with low latency works best for services like this, and that's where the AmpliFi Gamer's Edition will help out those interested in this aspect of gaming.


Lastly, I tested each optimization setting by downloading the same 24GB game twice: with throughput optimized the game downloaded in 46 minutes, while the latency optimization setting increased the download time to 54 minutes. Like the network settings, there is obviously something going on behind the scenes of the Gamer's Edition to help with slight optimization in certain areas, but in the end I never found the QoS features to be enough of a standout to justify the Gamer's Edition price of $380 over the AmpliFi HD price of $340.

AmpliFi iOS App

In its iOS app (also available on Android), Ubiquiti Labs offers a simple approach to network maintenance, data collection, and troubleshooting. On the main System tab, you'll find your AmpliFi router and all MeshPoints connected to the network. At the top of the page is a statement to give you immediate details on your network's status, and the day counter beneath this lets you know how long it's been since the router last had issues or it was reset. Ubiquiti Labs told me this info can be helpful if you ever need to contact customer support.


You can tap on each of these for more in-depth controls, including LCD/LED brightness levels, Night Mode, sound effects volume, network type settings, band steering, and much more. Band steering directs devices to the router's 5 GHz band for higher performance, and if the signal weakens it redirects devices to the increased range of the 2.4 GHz band. On a granular level, you can also turn off automatic connections to each wireless band, and completely steer devices to the radio of your choosing.

In the settings for the MeshPoints, you'll see how strong or weak the signal is from the router, pick which wireless band it's running on, rename it, and edit settings for sounds, LED, and more. On the very bottom of the System tab, AmpliFi highlights how many client devices currently on your network, and shows a live update of your network's throughput.

This info is further broken down in the Performance tab, with throughput appearing again, alongside an in-app speed test. This section of the app also breaks down your internet usage history from the time the router was last reset, and you can hit the "reset statistics" option to start fresh. This information can be displayed on the touchscreen of each AmpliFi router, and if you time the reset to coincide with your monthly internet service cap, you can keep a watchful eye on your data downloads right from the router.


This quickly became my favorite everyday use case for the AmpliFi HD/Gamer Edition's large, circular displays, since it was so easy to glance at the router from my couch and see how close I was to my 1TB data cap. A way to schedule an automatic reset of the throughput information on the same day every month would be welcome, but it's simple enough to jump into the AmpliFi app each month when needed.

The app also lets you create a guest network that has its own name, WPA2 PSK security, and band steering settings. You can choose the max amount of people allowed on the network, set a timer for it to turn off, and once it's on your guests will be able to easily jump on AmpliFi's Wi-Fi on a network different from your base network. The option defaults to requiring no password on the guest network, but you can add one in settings, as well as increase privacy by dialing down the amount of people allowed on the guest network before it launches.


Although Apple has simplified how we share our Wi-Fi passwords with guests, having a dedicated option provided through the AmpliFi app was welcome, and worked perfectly every time I launched the guest network.

Finally, there are tabs for family devices and network diagnostics. The Family tab gives you a complete overview of every piece of hardware connected to the internet in your home, which you can give gaming/streaming priority to, pause the internet on, and rename. Profiles can also be created on a room-by-room basis or for each family member.


Although it can be a bit of a hassle to figure out which device is which (some only display generic model numbers and require you to dig into their client details to find more clues), this area of AmpliFi's app will be best suited for parents looking to block off gadgets by each family member and set schedules for internet access.

Bottom Line

Ubiquiti Labs' set of AmpliFi routers are a great mesh network solution, particularly for users who are overwhelmed with the options out there and need a friendly, easy introduction into this type of router.


Setup is a breeze, all three routers are beautifully designed, the AmpliFi app has plenty of utility for troubleshooting and network upkeep, and -- most importantly -- coverage is rock solid.

How To Buy

You can buy each router on AmpliFi's website by following these links: AmpliFi HD Mesh Wi-Fi System is priced at $340.00, AmpliFi Mesh Wi-Fi System Gamer's Edition is priced at $379.00, and the AmpliFi Instant System is priced at $179.00.

Standalone versions of the Instant Router, HD Router, and HD MeshPoints are available as well. The routers are also sold at retailers like Best Buy, Amazon, The Home Depot, B&H Photo, and more, although the newer Gamer's Edition appears to be only on AmpliFi's website as of writing.

Ubiquiti Labs sent us the AmpliFi Instant, AmpliFi HD, and AmpliFi Gamer's Edition routers for the purposes of this review. No other compensation was received. MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.


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Withings today announced the Pulse HR, the first all-new addition to its health and fitness tracker range since the French company relaunched two months ago.

Reviving the classic design of Withings Pulse – the first tracker Withings ever launched in 2013 – Pulse HR matches an OLED display in stainless steel casing with a silicone wristband that comes in several optional colors.


Under the Pulse HR is a PPG heart rate sensor capable of measuring pulse at 10-minute intervals and continuous heart rate measurements during workout sessions, which include a full breakdown of HR zones synced to the Health Mate app.

By raising their wrist or using the tracker's button, users can scroll through time/date, heart rate, calories burned, activity goal progress, real-time workout information, and smartphone notifications.

Like the Withings Steel HR smartwatch, Pulse HR includes multi-sport tracking for over 30 different activities from yoga, volleyball, and rowing to boxing, skiing and ice hockey. It also offers GPS-connected automatic activity recognition for over 10 activities including walking, running and swimming, and is water resistant up to 50 meters.

The 20-day battery life enables full sleep tracking, including a Smart Wake-up feature that can wake users with vibration alarms at the most optimal times during their sleep cycle.


Pulse HR begins pre-orders today and will ship in time for the holidays on December 5, priced $129.95. Additional information is available on the Withings website, where customers can browse its full range of fitness trackers and other connected products like scales, blood pressure monitors, smart thermometers, sleep trackers, and more.


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My son (5y) asked me today: If there were a kind of a fireman's pole from the Moon down to the Earth, how long would it take to slide all the way from the Moon to the Earth?

Ramon Schönborn, Germany

First, let's get a few things out of the way:

In real life, we can't put a metal pole between the Earth and the Moon.[1] The end of the pole near the Moon would be pulled toward the Moon by the Moon's gravity, and the rest of it would be pulled back down to the Earth by the Earth's gravity. The pole would be torn in half.

Another problem with this plan. The Earth's surface spins faster than the Moon goes around, so the end that dangled down to the Earth would break off if you tried to connect it to the ground:

There's one more problem:[2] The Moon doesn't always stay the same distance from Earth. Its orbit takes it closer and farther away. It's not a big difference,[3] but it's enough that the bottom 50,000 km of your fire station pole would be squished against the Earth once a month.

But let's ignore those problems! What if we had a magical pole that dangled from the Moon down to just above the Earth's surface, expanding and contracting so it never quite touched the ground? How long would it take to slide down from the Moon?

If you stood next to the end of the pole on the Moon, a problem would become clear right away: You have to slide up the pole, and that's not how sliding works.

Instead of sliding, you'll have to climb.

People can climb poles pretty fast. World-record pole climbers[4] can climb at over a meter per second in championship competition.[5] On the Moon, gravity is much weaker, so it will probably be easier to climb. On the other hand, you'll have to wear a spacesuit, so that will probably slow you down a little.

If you climb up the pole far enough, Earth's gravity will take over and start pulling you down. When you're hanging onto the pole, there are three forces pulling on you: The Earth's gravity pulling you toward Earth, the Moon's gravity pulling you away from Earth, and centrifugal force[6] from the swinging pole pulling you away from Earth.[7] At first, the combination of the Moon's gravity and centrifugal force are stronger, pulling you toward the Moon, but as you get closer to the Earth, Earth's gravity takes over. The Earth is pretty big, so you reach this point—which is known as the L1 Lagrange point—while you're still pretty close to the Moon.

Unfortunately for you, space is big, so "pretty close" is still a long way. Even if you climb at better-than-world-record speed, it will still take you several years to get to the L1 crossover point.

As you approach the L1 point, you'll start to be able to switch from climbing to pushing-and-gliding: You can push once and then coast a long distance up the pole. You don't have to wait to stop, either—you can grab the pole again and give yourself a push to move even faster, like a skateboarder kicking several times to speed up.

Eventually, as you reach the vicinity of the L1 point and are no longer fighting gravity, the only limit on your speed will be how quickly you can grab the pole and "throw" it past you. The best baseball pitchers can move their hands at about 100 mph while flinging objects past them, so you probably can't expect to move much faster than that.

Note: While you're flinging yourself along, be careful not to drift out of reach of the pole. Hopefully you brought some kind of safety line so you can recover if that happens.

After another few weeks of gliding along the pole, you'll start to feel gravity take over, speeding you up faster than you can go by pushing yourself. When this happens, be careful—soon, you'll need to start worrying about going too fast.

As you approach the Earth and the pull of its gravity increases, you'll start to speed up quite a bit. If you don't stop yourself, you'll reach the top of the atmosphere at roughly escape velocity—11 km/s[8]—and the impact with the air will produce so much heat that you risk burning up. Spacecraft deal with this problem by including heat shields, which are capable of absorbing and dissipating this heat without burning up the spacecraft behind it.[9] Since you have this handy metal pole, you can control your descent by clamping onto it and controlling your rate of descent through friction.

Make sure to keep your speed low during the whole approach and descent—and, if necessary, pausing to let your hands or brakepads cool down—rather than waiting until the end to try to slow down. If you get up to escape velocity, then at the last minute remember that you need to slow down, you'll be in for an unpleasant surprise as you try to grab on to the pole. At best, you'll be flung away and plummet to your death. At worst, your hands and the surface of the pole will both be converted into exciting new forms of matter, and then you'll be flung away and plummet to your death.

Assuming you descend slowly and enter the atmosphere in a controlled manner, you'll soon encounter your next problem: Your pole isn't moving at the same speed as the Earth. Not even close. The land and atmosphere below you are moving very fast relative to you. You're about to drop into some extremely strong winds.

The Moon orbits around the Earth at a speed of roughly one kilometer per second, making a wide circle[10] every 29 days or so. That's how fast the top end of our hypothetical fire pole will be traveling. The bottom end of the pole makes a much smaller circle in the same amount of time, moving at an average speed of only about 35 mph relative to the center of the Moon's orbit:

35 miles per hour doesn't sound bad. Unfortunately for you, the Earth is also spinning,[11] and its surface moves a lot faster than 35 mph; at the Equator, it can reach over 1,000 miles per hour.[12]​[13]

Even though the end of the pole is moving slowly relative to the Earth as a whole, it's moving very fast relative to the surface.

Asking how fast the pole is moving relative to the surface is effectively the same as asking what the "ground speed" of the Moon is. This is tricky to calculate, because the Moon's ground speed varies over time in a complicated way. Luckily for us, it doesn't vary that much—it's usually somewhere between 390 and 450 m/s, or a little over Mach 1—so figuring out the precise value isn't necessary.

Let's buy a little time by trying to figure it out anyway.

The Moon's ground speed varies pretty regularly, making a kind of sine wave. It peaks twice every month as it passes over the fast-moving equator, then reaches a minimum when it's over the slower-moving tropics. Its orbital speed also changes depending on whether it's at the close or far point in its orbit. This leads to a roughly sine-wave shaped ground speed:

Well, ready to jump?

Ok, fine. There's one other cycle we can take into account to really nail down the Moon's ground speed. The Moon's orbit is tilted by about 5° relative to the Earth-Sun plane, while the Earth's axis is tilted by 23.5°. This means that the Moon's latitude changes the way the Sun's does, moving from the northern tropics to the southern tropics twice a year.

However, the Moon's orbit is also tilted, and this tilt rotates on an 18.9-year cycle. When the Moon's tilt is in the same direction as the Earth's, it stays 5° closer to the Equator than the Sun, and when it's in the opposite direction, it reaches more extreme latitudes. When the Moon is over a point farther from the equator, it has a lower "ground speed," so the lower end of the sine wave goes lower. Here's the plot of the Moon's "ground speed" over the next few decades:

The Moon's top speed stays pretty constant, but the lowest speed rises and falls with an 18.9-year cycle. The lowest speed of the next cycle will be on May 1st, 2025, so if you want to wait until 2025 to slide down, you can hit the atmosphere when the pole is moving at only 390 m/s relative to the Earth's surface.

When you do finally enter the atmosphere, you'll be coming down near the edge of the tropics. Try to avoid the tropical jet stream, an upper-level air current which blows in the same direction the Earth rotates. If your pole happens to go through it, it could add another 50-100 m/s to the wind speed.

Regardless of where you come down, you'll need to contend with supersonic winds, so you should wear lots of protective gear.[15] Make sure you're tightly attached to the pole, since the wind and various shockwaves will be violently battering and jolting you around. People often say, "It's not the fall that kills you, it's the sudden stop at the end." Unfortunately, in this case, it's probably going to be both.[17]

At some point, to reach the ground, you're going to have to let go of the pole. For obvious reasons, you don't want to jump directly onto the ground while moving at Mach 1. Instead, you should probably wait until you're somewhere near airline cruising altitude, where the air is still thin, so it's not pulling at you too hard—and let go of the pole. Then, as the air carries you away and you fall toward the Earth, you can open your parachute.

Then, at last, you can drift safely to the ground, having traveled from the Moon to the Earth completely under your own muscle power.

(When you're done, remember to remove the fire pole. That thing is definitely a safety hazard.)

[1] For one, someone at NASA would probably yell at us.

[2] Ok, that's a lie—there are, like, hundreds more problems.

[3] You may occasionally see people get excited about the "supermoon," a full Moon that appears slightly larger because it happens at the time of the month when the Moon is closest to Earth. But really, the full Moon always looks surprisingly large and pretty when it's near the horizon, thanks to the Moon illusion. In my opinion, it's worth going outside and looking at the Moon whenever it's full, regardless of whether it's super or not.

[4] Of course there's a world record for pole climbing.

[5] Of course there are championship competitions.

[6] As usual, anyone arguing about "centrifugal" versus "centripetal" force will be put in a centrifuge.

[7] At the distance of the Moon's orbit and the speed it's traveling, centrifugal force pushing away is exactly balanced by the Earth's gravity—which is why the Moon orbits there.

[8] This is why anything that falls into the Earth hits the atmosphere fast enough to burn up. Even if an object is moving slowly when it's drifting through space, when it gets close to the Earth it gets accelerated up to at least escape velocity by that final segment of the trip down into the Earth's gravity well.

[9] People often ask why we don't use rockets to slow down, to avoid the need for a heat shield. You can read this article for an explanation, but the bottom line is that changing your speed by 11 km/s takes either a tank of fuel the size of a building or a tiny heat shield, and the tiny heat shield is a lot easier to carry. Thanks to heat shields, slowing down is much easier than speeding up—which requires the aforementioned giant fuel tank. (For more on this, see this What If question).

Heat shields only work for slowing down; if there were a way to use the same heat shield mechanism to speed up, space travel would get a lot easier. Sadly, no one's figured out a practical way to build a "reverse heat shield" rocket. However, while the idea seems silly, in a sense it's sort of the principle behind both Project Orion and laser ablation propulsion.

[10] Yes, I know, orbits are conic sections which in the case of the Moon is technically not exactly a circle. It's actually a pentagon.

[11] I mean, unfortunately in this specific context. In general, the fact that the Earth spins is very fortunate for you, and for the planet's overall habitability.

[12] It's common knowledge that Mt. Everest is the tallest mountain on Earth, measured from sea level. A somewhat more obscure piece of trivia is that the point on the Earth's surface farthest from its center is the summit of Mt. Chimborazo in Ecuador, due to the fact that the planet bulges out at the equator. Even more obscure is the question of which point on the Earth's surface moves the fastest as the Earth spins, which is the same as asking which point is farthest from the Earth's axis. The answer isn't Chimborazo or Everest. The fastest point turns out to be the peak of Mt. Cayambe, a volcano north of Chimborazo. And now you know.

[13] Mt. Cayambe's southern slope also happens to be the highest point on Earth's surface directly on the Equator. I have a lot of mountain facts.

[15] For aerodynamic reasons, this gear should probably make it look like you're wearing a very fast airplane.

[17] If it helps, people have survived supersonic ejections before—and even a supersonic aircraft disintegration—so there's hope.