Aluminum Foil and Lightning?

Question

This is kind of random... but does aluminum foil attract lighting in a storm? Or does it reflect it?

Answer 1

While aluminum foil does conduct electricity, thats not to say lighting is more likely to hit it than other objects. It certainly does not reflect lighting though.

The main factor as to where lighting strikes is the highest point nearby.

Answer 2

If the foil is grounded, it will attract and deflect, not reflect, lightning, which is all not quite right because the lightning actually goes UP from the ground, not down from the clouds.

The foil will present an easier path for the flow of electrons, so will marginally increase the likelihood of the next discharge picking that path.  Then, as in an automobile, the discharge follows the foil the same way ot follows the outer skin of a car, scaring the snot out of the occupants, but deflecting around them.

Answer 3

Here's how lightning works. The static charged clouds build up charge which is going to "push" the same charge, lets say electrons, through any conductor. When the conductor, lets say a street sign, is grounded or connected to the ground than the electrons will be "pushed" down through the sign and into the Earth. Since protons do not move that leaves a tremendous amount of possitive charge at the top of the street sign. What does possitive and negative do? They attract. The heavily charged cloud (negative) will discharge to the heavily charged (sign) and continue to the ground.

So to answer your question aluminum foil will conduct electric charge but if it is not grounded than it has no chance of becoming possitively charged. It would be harmful if the foil is wrapped on the top of a metal pole that is ground. Oh and absolutely will bot reflect lightning.