It is a continuous conductive rod or strap which runs from the top of a building down to being buried several feet in the earth. When a lightning strike is about to hit the building, the energy takes the easiest path to ground, which is the lightning conductor. This safely dissipates the energy in the ground, rather than it being destructively released in the fabric of the building.
The lightning rod also known as a lightning conductor or a lightning arrester is a device used to protect people from the damage caused by lightning. A lightning conductor or rod consists of a metal rod of copper or some other material that is a good conductor of electricity and this rod either extends to the ground below or a wire trails off instead. The end of the rod or wire is buried in earth as the lightning that hits the rod can quickly be dissipated. Earth having a zero charge absorbs the lightning instantly.
Even though most modern buildings of substantial height now have lightning rods in built earlier most low level housing lacked this feature. Then they were much more commonly seen in churches as these were the tallest structures around.
Whole House Lightning Protection installs lightning rods in East TN and other areas. A lightning rod (air terminal) properly installed struck by lightning will conduct the charge to ground by following a path of least resistance (the conducting cable attached to it) to ground, away from the building.. For the system to work, you need more that just lightning rods on a building. All grounds (cable, phone, satellite dish etc) ALL must be tied together to the existing house ground installed by the electrical contractor that wired the building, and one of the downloads from the lightning rods must also be tied to this system, according to NEC codes. To complete the system, SURGE protectors must be installed in the main service panel for incoming power and telephone. A properly installed lightning protection system is 99% effective in preventing or lessen damage to a building from a DIRECT STRIKE!
