Lightning protection methods: an update and a discredited system vindicated

The end may be near for the 200-year-old method of using a Franklin rod to collect, control, and convey to earth the awesome and destructive power of lightning. The side effects of allowing thousands of amperes to flow adjacent to and near computers and sensitive electronic equipment can be considered foolhardy and costly. The charge transfer system of preventing lightning strikes to protected areas is a valid concept and will replace the Franklin rod method in many applications. An IEEE standard is under development.