“We found, from the first laser lightning event, that the discharge could follow the beam for almost 60 m (197 ft) before reaching the tower, thus increasing the radius of the protection surface ...

This 3-D reconstruction models a lightning strike captured by high-speed cameras in July 2021. It shows the moment that the lightning bolt hit a metal rod atop a tower, its path guided through the ...

Lightning rods protect buildings by providing a low-resistance path for charges to flow between the clouds and the ground. But they only work if lightning finds that path first. The actual strike ...

Lightning rods that use laser beams can efficiently (and safely) guide bolts of lightning, preventing random strikes, scientists explain. Here’s how they work.

Benjamin Franklin invented lightning rods in the 18th century, and the devices have been protecting buildings and people from the destructive forces of lightning ever since.

Lightning rods, dating back to Franklin's time, are metal rods atop buildings, connected to the ground with a wire, that conduct electric charges lightning strikes harmlessly into the ground.

A high-speed photo of lightning rods at work during an electrical storm in São José dos Campos, Brazil, is helping scientists understand how the devices compete to attract strikes and keep ...

The standard way of protecting buildings (and their occupants) from lightning is pretty simple: You stick a lightning rod on the roof, and then some kind of conducting channel that takes the huge ...