Have you ever seen one of those cool nighttime photos which show purple, glowing lightning striking a vertical rod on top of a building? The rod wasn’t put there to attract lightning, it was installed to discharge it! When lighting strikes the rod, it actually helps to protect the structure from an otherwise dangerous strike that could potentially damage the building if a rod wasn’t present.
Basically, the metal rod atop the building is attached to a wire that travels down the length of the building. Then, the wire is led underground where it makes contact with the earth. This “grounds” the electricity and prevents it from doing structural damage, or even heating up building materials and causing a fire.
The lightning rod was invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1749 as part of his groundbreaking explorations into electricity. The invention is more important than ever in modern times, as buildings all around the world are being built taller and taller. And, the taller the building, the greater the chance of a lightning strike.
Click here to watch a cool video about how lightning rods work!