Home > categories > Security & Protection > Lightning Rod > What is the principle of the lightning rod?
Question:

What is the principle of the lightning rod?

What is the principle of the lightning rod?

Answer:

The modern lightning rod was invented by American scientist Franklin. Franklin thinks lightning is a discharge phenomenon. To prove this, he braved the risk of lightning during a thunderstorm in July 1752, flying a kite with a long metal wire into a thunderstorm and tying a string of silver keys at the end of the wire. When the lightning struck, Franklin approached the key, and a spark of electric sparks appeared on the key. There's numbness in your hands. Fortunately, the lightning passed down this time was weak, and Franklin was unhurt. After the capture of lightning in kite experiment successfully, Franklin produced in the research of lightning and artificial friction electricity consistency, he from the analogy made such speculation: since the artificially generated electrical energy is the tip of absorption, then lightning can also be the tip of the absorption. He designed the kite experiment, and the success of the kite experiment in turn confirmed his conjecture. He imagined that if a sophisticated device could be placed on a high object, it would be possible to bring it into the ground. Franklin put this arrester: put a few meters long thin iron bar is fixed on top of the tall buildings, separated by an insulator between the iron bars and buildings. Then connect to the bottom of the iron bar with a lead. Then lead the wire into the ground. Franklin called the lightning arrester "lightning rod". After trial, it can really play the role of lightning protection. The invention of lightning rod is the first technical achievement of great value in early electrical research, which promotes the harmony between man and nature.
Lightning conductor, also known as lightning protection needle, is used to protect buildings and other devices to avoid lightning strikes. The installation of a metal bar on top of tall buildings, with a metal line and buried together on a metal plate underground, using metal rod tip discharge, so that the clouds with the electricity and the electric gradually and thus does not cause the accident. In accordance with the size of the building to be protected, lightning rod has a wide range of specifications.
The lightning rod is installed on the top of the building used to lightning, it is the use of tip discharge principle (the local electric field intensity greater curvature surface charged body is larger), the needle tip electric field intensity of lightning is far greater than elsewhere in the building, so when there is thunder and lightning, lightning tip end of the air is high electric field breakdown, so that the air the resistivity decreases rapidly, so as to discharge (rod by wire is connected to the earth), the charge along the wire to the ground, so that the building against lightning damage.

Share to: