lightning conductor

lightning conductor

, rod

a metal strip terminating in a series of sharp points, attached to the highest part of a building, etc., to discharge the electric field before it can reach a dangerous level and cause a lightning strike

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

Lightning conductor

A metal device that leads an electrical charge from a strike by lightning safely to the ground; typically a braided copper wire connected to a lightning rod on the roof and grounded to a water pipe or other underground metal conductor.

Illustrated Dictionary of Architecture Copyright © 2012, 2002, 1998 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

lightning conductor

[′līt·niŋ kən‚dək·tər]

(electricity)

A conductor designed to carry the current of a lightning discharge from a lightning rod to ground.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

lightning conductor, lightning rod

lightning conductor

A metallic cable or rod, running from the highest point on the roof of a building (and insulated from it) to the ground; protects the building, should lightning strike, by providing a direct path to ground.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.