What is a lighteing rod?

Question

What is a lighteing rod?

Answer 1

It is a grounded metal rod attached to a building. It is designed to attract lightning away from the building proper and transfer the electricity to the ground before it can damage the building. Thank Benjamin Franklin for it.

Answer 2

A pointed rod or group of rods that guide a charge off a building in the direction of a highly charged cloud is called a lightning rod. A metal brush that is connected to the building peak will provide many points and reduce charge most.

The purpose is not to attract a discharge from the cloud, but to get rid of the charge on the building.

We run a conducting cable over the  top of the building that is also grounded. The objective is the same, to avoid buildup of charge. and so to reduce the risk of a discharge from a cloud.

But also, when there is a discharge, the cable leads that discharge to ground. This cable should never, never, be connected to the electrical bare neutral ground of the building, It should not even go to ground very close to it.

The lightning is most unwelcome coming into the house on your safety ground.