Lightning detection: From ground to sky

In the mid-18th century, Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning rod. Franklin began experimenting with electricity in 1745 which led him to the idea. The pointed rod was made of conductive material, such as aluminum or copper, and placed on top of a building with a wire running down to another rod stuck in the ground, which would conduct a lightning bolt’s electricity safely away from the building and into the ground. He theorized about the concept long before he ever flew his famous kite, saying, "The electrical fire would, I think, be drawn out of a cloud silently, before it could come near enough to strike."