Many people install lightning rods on their rooftops to prevent homes from the damage that lightning may cause. Generally, a lightning rod is nothing more than a conductive piece of metal about 3 feet in length on top of the highest point on a house. Attached to this piece of metal is a thick copper wire that runs down the side of the house and attaches to a pipe, which reaches several feet into the earth. During a storm as the charge builds, the air between the cloud and the ground starts to ionize, once it gets to within 100 feet of the ground objects on the ground begin throwing up “streamers”. When lightning strikes and your lightning rod created a higher streamer than your rooftop, the odds of it striking the rod are greater. Therefore, you would have decreased the odds of the lightning damaging your home.
http://www.weatherimagery.com/blog/lightning-rods-attract-lightning/
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