Patent ID: 7960647

Claim:
A lightning protection device comprising: a grounded Franklin rod; and a conductive device electrically bonded to the rod and defining a predetermined overall shape of a predetermined size therearound, the conductive device being shaped and sized to provide a better lightning rod by eliminating a production of ions or space charges, to limit an amount of corona discharges before lightning strikes so that, for a given position above ground where a continuous upward leader inception space potential is below a maximum ambient ground field space potential, a corona inception space potential of the protection device coincides with the continuous upward leader inception space potential, under both dry and wet conditions, while, for another given position above ground where the continuous leader inception space potential exceeds the maximum ambient ground field space potential, the corona inception space potential of the protection device is above the maximum ambient ground field space potential and below the continuous upward leader inception space potential, the corona inception space potential of the protection device being substantially insensitive to surface protrusions due to contamination.