Seniors, do you ever lie back and speculate about cloud formations?
Yes, you are quite correct, the lightning rod is designed to reduce the electrical stress in the atmosphere around it and thereby reduce the probability of a strike. Various designs have a single or large number of sharp spikes on them to help. Some have slightly radioactive materials on their tips. The idea is that the radioactivity will ionize the air and help bleed off the charge. If you do get a strike, the charge will travel down the outside of the conductor but will generate some very high temperatures. The heating will increase at any point where there is a change of direction of the conductor. So, if you have installed the conductor so that it follows the profile of the building, where it bends around the building is where you will cause damage to the building and probably start a fire. A nice looking flexible conductor will do more harm than good. If you want to provide protection to a building then you need to erect a tower or mast with a lightning rod on the top and a good path straight down the mast to a good ground at the base of the mast. Arrange it so that the whole building falls underneath a line drawn from the top of the mast to the ground a 45 degrees. Anything that is within a 45 degree cone drawn from the top of the mast will be protected. You will see this method used for equipment shelters in remote locations.
Don't panic! Your mom is doing the right thing. The alarm won't hurt you, even if it goes off for no reason. It's better to risk a false alarm than to have no warning if somebody does try to break in which is unlikely statistically speaking. Ask your mom to show you how to set the alarm and silence it if it goes off. If you know how it works, it might not freak you out anymore. Put a flash light and a baseball bat under your bed, if that will make you feel better.
