And, observing a thunderstorm, logic would lead one to believe that if a metal rod were placed at the tallest point of a structure, a lightning bolt would strike it, directing the energy into the earth and preventing harm to the structure itself. Unfortunately, it is not as simple as that. Metal, as bizarre as it may sound, does not attract lightning. Instead, it gives off electric charges too. The reason a metal object will attract lightning is because when two objects with different electrical charges come close to each other, they are forced to move away from each other to balance out their charges. This is called "electricity's force". The object with the negative charge (which in this case would be the metal object) will try to move away from the positive charge (lightning), while the object with the positive charge will try to move towards the negative charge. When this balancing act occurs between an object and a lightning bolt, the metal object will attract the bolt to it. However, since light cannot be refracted or bent by any material, the only way for a lightning bolt to reach a metal object is if the object is either conductive or exposed to space. A non-conducting object such as wood would block its path. Space, however, can be virtually considered as conductive so long as there is air between it and another object.