Benjamin Franklin Lightning Rod, 1752
The pointed lightning rod conductor, also called a lightning attractor or Franklin rod, was invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1749. He noted that conductors with a sharp rather than a smooth point could discharge silently, and at a far greater distance. He surmised that this could help protect buildings from lightning by attaching "upright Rods of Iron, made sharp as a Needle and gilt to prevent Rusting, and from the Foot of those Rods a Wire down the outside of the Building into the Ground; ... Would not these pointed Rods probably draw the Electrical Fire silently out of a Cloud before it came nigh enough to strike, and thereby secure us from that most sudden and terrible Mischief!" Following a series of experiments on Franklin's own house, lightning rods were installed on the Academy of Philadelphia (University of Pennsylvania) and the Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall) in 1752.
Size: 2391px × 5250px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -, 1750s, 1752, 18th, america, american, art, artwork, attractor, ben, benjamin, bw, century, conductor, drawing, electric, electrical, electricity, famous, franklin, historic, historical, history, illustration, important, invention, lightning, notable, physics, pointed, rod, science, states, united, usa
