A Rolling Lightning Rod.
By
Staten Island, NY Posted: 6/16/2015 1:00:00 AM
Ben Franklin saved countless lives when he invented the Lightning Rod.
Before Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning rod, very few people understood what lightning was. He not only realized it was a form of electricity, but he understood that lightning was a form of energy that could be controlled by redirecting it to the ground.
The most innovative part of his idea was that his Lightning Rods gave the electricity a direct path to the ground, rather than shooting through the buildings they protected. As long as the rod provided a better path to the ground than the structure itself, the building would be safe from the effects of the blast.
While running through a thunderstorm today, I wondered why there still isn't a device that uses Ben Franklin's ideas to protect people caught in the rain. That's when I created this doodle.
The idea is pretty simple. In theory, if you had a non-conductive pole with a rubber handle, that connected to a metal pole with a spiked wheel that kept it continually grounded, you could conceivably give lightning a direct path to the ground, rather than through your body.
I must stress, this is quite theoretical. If it does what Ben Franklin discovered, the bolt would follow the path into the spikes in the ground, saving your life. Which means that for it to work, it would have to actually attract the lightning, so it becomes the target, rather than your head. So, even if it did it's job, it would scare the crap out of most people, so good look finding somebody willing to test it. 
Chances are it wouldn't be as effective on hard surfaces as it would be on the grass, but it could come in handy on a golf course.
PS: If you are crazy enough to try my idea out, don't blame me if things don't work out.
Joe Crescenzi, Founder
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