Search results
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.
- Benjamin Franklin and the Kite Experiment
Here’s how the experiment worked: Franklin constructed a...
- Benjamin Franklin and the Kite Experiment
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.
In what later became the United States, the pointed lightning rod conductor, also called a lightning attractor or Franklin rod, was invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1752 as part of his groundbreaking exploration of electricity.
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.
Franklin demonstrated his new theory of positive and negative charges, suggested the electrical nature of lightning, and proposed a tall, grounded rod as a protection against lightning.
