Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Why do lightning rods have a sharp point at the top? Ask Question. Asked 6 years, 6 months ago. Active 1 year, 6 months ago. Viewed 16k times. Improve this question. Vishnu 4, 5 5 gold badges 22 22 silver badges 66 66 bronze badges. Shashank Shashank 1, 5 5 gold badges 23 23 silver badges 42 42 bronze badges. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. Improve this answer.
Mann Mann 5 5 silver badges 17 17 bronze badges. Jon Custer 6, 32 32 gold badges 21 21 silver badges 31 31 bronze badges. Bill N Bill N Which also states that : Finding that moderately rounded or blunt-tipped lightning rods act as marginally better strike receptors. Michael Chusid Michael Chusid 1. Lightning is erratic, so people try to impose order—even if that order leads to more disorder in the form of myths.
As it happens, lightning does strike in the same place twice—and sometimes more. Take the Empire State Building, for instance. The New York City art-deco landmark is struck nearly times a year. Some people think that lightning rods actively draw lighting. That, too, is a myth; they help dissipate electrical energy if it forms.
But get this: Lightning rods did attract attention from European fashionistas in the late 18th century. Because they are so prominent, real lighting rods have also inspired decoration. I appreciate good design, so I decided to search for lighting rods with fine form. I came across some striking designs: an antique copper lightning rod with a starburst tip, a vintage lightning rod with a wind indicator from Maryville, Missouri, and a vintage lightning rod in ornate hammered aluminum with a cobalt-blue ball and a roof mount.
All lovely, but it was the cobalt-blue ball that caught my eye. To my disappointment, it was made from hard plastic, not glass. Some people say glass balls were added to lightning rods so people would know if a structure had been hit should they find the ball shattered following a storm.
Others say this is not so. No matter, the glass ball has become a decorative feature. According to Willard, nowadays the glass balls are purely ornamental. He sees them on old barns in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. I asked Willard if he has installed lightning rods on his home. They may look simple to install to the untrained eye, but they have idiosyncrasies, and if installed incorrectly they can be dangerous.
I suspect it will make for a striking piece of art. Related Questions. Still Curious? Hi, could you please help explain to me how lightning rods work? And why a lightning rod with several sharp points is more likely to be struck by lightning than one with a rounded top? I understand that sharp pointed ends accumulate more charge, so is it that there would hence be a greater force of attraction between the charged thundercloud and this sharp pointed rod than with the rounded rod or with a building?
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