a grounded metal rod placed high on a structure to prevent damage by conducting lightning directly to the ground
a long metal strip that is attached to a corner of a building
a metal rod that's used to attract lightning and stop it from hitting buildings
A grounded metallic conductor with its upper extremity extending above the structure that is to be protected from damage due to lightning.
Many lighthouse models from 1991-1992 featured a wire or bristle 'lightning rod'. These were attached after casting by drilling a hole in the top of the tower and inserting the wire or bristle. Except in a few cases, lightning rods were phased out during the production run. Thus some pieces of a particular lighthouse may have a rod while others do not. MORE INFO.
A lightning rod (or lightning protector) is a metal strip or rod, usually of copper or similar conductive material, used as part of lightning safety to protect tall or isolated structures (such as the roof of a building or the mast of a vessel) from lightning damage. Its formal name is lightning finial or air terminal. Sometimes, the system is informally referred to as a lightning conductor, lightning arrester, or lightning discharger; however, these terms actually refer to lightning protection systems in general or specific components within them.