Capturing Lightning: High-Speed Photo Reveals How Lightning Rods Work

A high-speed photo of lightning rods at work during an electrical storm in Brazil is helping scientists understand how the devices compete to attract strikes and keep buildings safe from damage. The image shows a lightning bolt heading towards the ground at 230 miles per second, and the researchers' analysis of the lightning rods' reactions to the bolt was published in the Geophysical Research Letters in December 2022. Lightning rods were invented in the mid-18th century by Benjamin Franklin and are used to safely disperse electrical discharges on the ground.