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The pointed lightning rod placed on the State House and other buildings became a symbol of the ingenuity and independence of a young, thriving nation, as well as the intellect and inventiveness of Benjamin Franklin.
Jun 15, 2018 · Learn how Franklin proved that lightning is electricity and invented the lightning rod through his experiments with kites. Discover his early life, achievements, and legacy as a scientist, inventor, and Founding Father of the US.
Learn how Franklin discovered the means of securing buildings from lightning damage by attaching a rod to the top and connecting it to the ground. Read his description of the invention from Poor Richard's Almanack and see an original rod.
Here’s how the experiment worked: Franklin constructed a simple kite and attached a wire to the top of it to act as a lightning rod. To the bottom of the kite he attached a hemp string, and to that he attached a silk string.
Aug 10, 2015 · Learn how Benjamin Franklin proposed and others performed the experiment that linked lightning and electricity, and how his kite and key story may be exaggerated or false. Discover the history and science behind this famous event and its impact on the field of electricity.
Jan 1, 2006 · Franklin’s seminal contributions were his suggestions that tall, insulated rods could be used to determine if thunderclouds are, in fact, electrified and that tall, grounded rods would protect against lightning damage.
Jan 4, 2002 · During September Franklin erected a lightning rod on his own house, ingeniously equipping it with bells that would ring when the wire became charged and thus notify him when the atmosphere above the house was electrified. 4 Then at last, on October 19, he printed in the Gazette a brief statement about the kite experiment with instructions for re...
