By 1750, in addition to wanting to prove that lightning was electricity, Franklin began to think about protecting people, buildings, and other structures from lightning. This grew into his idea for the lightning rod. Franklin described an iron rod about 8 or 10 feet long that was sharpened to a point at the end. In fact, Franklin's original design for the lightning rod, which consisted of a metal rod with a pointed tip attached to the roof of a building and connected to a metal conductor that ran down to the ground, is still in use today. While there have been some modifications and improvements to the design over the years, the basic principles of the lightning rod remain the same.
The first lightning rod was invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1749. Franklin's invention consisted of a metal rod with a pointed tip attached to the roof of a building and connected to a metal conductor that ran down to the ground. The purpose of the lightning rod was to protect buildings and other structures from lightning strikes by providing a path for the electrical current to follow and dissipate harmlessly into the ground. Franklin's lightning rod quickly gained popularity and became a common sight on buildings throughout Europe and America. Over time, the design of the lightning rod has been refined and improved, but the basic principle of using a grounded metal rod to protect against lightning strikes remains the same.
