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You are here: Home / Universe / How Do Lightning Rods Work?

How Do Lightning Rods Work?

March 30, 2020 by Karen Hill

Lightning is caused by electrical charges that build up in the clouds during a thunderstorm, then erupt in a bolt of electricity that reaches between two clouds, or between the clouds and the earth.

When a lightning bolt streaks between clouds and the earth, it usually reaches the ground by first striking a tall object, such as a tree or a building, and following that object to the ground.

When a lightning bolt strikes a house, it may travel to the ground by moving along the house’s electrical wiring system or along its plumbing system. Parts of the bolt may strike furniture in the house, or even people!

A lightning rod is a metal pole attached usually to the roof of a house and connected by wires or pieces of metal to the ground. When a lightning bolt nears a house equipped with a lightning rod, it strikes the rod instead of the house because the rod is higher than the house.

The wires or pieces of metal connected to the rod then guide the dangerous electric current into the ground. A house equipped with a lightning rod might survive a powerful lightning bolt that could badly damage one without it.

Related Facts

  • Why Does Thunder Sound Like a Sharp Crack, and Sometimes Like a Low Rumble?
  • How Many Times Does Lightning Strike Around the World Each Day and How Hot Is a Bolt of Lightning?
  • When Lightning Strikes Water Do All the Fish Die and What Happens When Lightning Strikes a Ship at Sea?
  • Do tall buildings in the city need lightning rods and why?
  • What Is Lightning?
  • Who Discovered the Nature of Electricity and that all forms of electricity are the same?

Filed Under: Universe

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « How Big Is a Lightning Bolt?
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