There have been several theories of lightning protectio.. The British thought a ball was better - the Americans preferred a pointed tip. Perhaps the combination was a compromize - or perhaps (I have not checked) the balls contained a small amount of radioctive material like Radium 226 or Ameri-um 24 to ionize the tip (see ESE - easy streamer emmission) There are even "thistle flower" tips - a round "wire brush".
These were mostly or all glass, but Idid see one somewhere that was metal. I didn't look thorogly or add "metal" to my google search.
A map listed Maryland as having 500,000 a year, but considering these other states are many times the size of Maryland, maybe we have a lot too. (they also had a chart by density. Md is not in the top ten and I don't have the energy to start dividing square miles by number of strikes.
LOL.
Keeping your legs together is more sanitary too so you don't leave such a mess from crapping your pants.
If lightning strikes a tree there is a large voltage gradient in the earth away from the tree. If you are near and have your feet apart there can be a large voltage between your feet. Recommendations I have read are to keep your feet together, and if in the open, crouch.
A map of lightning strike incidence is at
The only research I have heard of on pointed vs rounded found rounded (0.5" radius?) seemed to be slightly more likely to be hit. Pointed may form an ion cloud that masks the point.
ESE (Early Streamer Emission) - one source of information is
I believe Charge Transfer Systems (CTS) and radio-active rods have similarly not been shown to be more effective than Franklin rods.
I have read that glass balls on rods would shatter if the rod was struck, so the system should be inspected.
On Tue, 16 Mar 2021 20:48:25 -0400, snipped-for-privacy@aol.com posted for all of us to digest...
Yup, Cadweld was the only accepted way to connect stuff. Had to figure out how many different molds and cartridges needed. Use OneShot for homes...
On Wed, 17 Mar 2021 22:57:07 -0400, Ed Pawlowski posted for all of us to digest...
But the pucker factor only initiates after the strike 8-(
On Wed, 17 Mar 2021 21:25:29 -0600, bud-- posted for all of us to digest...
We were taught in fire school if you felt a shock when advancing near an electrical source, such as a downed wire, to put it in the big R for reverse because the difference in potential is what one is feeling.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.