How do lightning rods actually work?
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So lighting/electricity will follow the path of least resistance from the clouds to the ground. Air has an incredibly high resistance. Metal has a lower resistance (lower than wood or stone as well). So the lightning will travel as far along that path preferring the metal first, if at all possible. Then it follows metal wiring down and into the ground.
Lightning rods are basically tall metal sticks that redirect the electricity into the ground. Because they are the tallest thing around, and highly conductive, logic would dictate that electricity would take the path of least resistance, through the shortest amount of air and then through the most conductive material, until it reaches the ground.
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