History
The lightning rod was invented by Benjamin Franklin in the Americas in 1749, and in Europe, probably independently and as the first grounded lightning rod ever, by the Czech priest Prokop Diviš in Bohemia (now Czech Republic), in 1754.
As buildings become taller, lightning becomes more of a threat. Lightning can damage structures made of most materials (masonry, wood, concrete and steel) as the huge currents involved can heat materials to high temperature, causing a potential for fire.
Read more about this topic: Lightning Rod
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“So in accepting the leading of the sentiments, it is not what we believe concerning the immortality of the soul, or the like, but the universal impulse to believe, that is the material circumstance, and is the principal fact in this history of the globe.”
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