"High-Speed Camera Captures Lightning Rods in Action"

A high-speed camera that records at 40,000 frames per second has captured a photo revealing how lightning rods behave. The image shows several lightning rods attempting to connect with a negatively charged lightning bolt that was nearing the ground at 230 miles per second. The lightning strike actually connects with a smokestack on top of one of the buildings and not one of the 30 lightning rods that are in the vicinity. On average, 20% of all lightning strikes involve an exchange of electrical discharges between clouds and the ground with the other 80% occurring inside clouds.