A Critical Review of Nonconventional Approaches to Lightning Protection

By M. A. Uman and V. A. Rakov. December 2002

The conventional technique for the lightning protection of structures is described in the U.S. National Standard, NFPA 780, and in many other national and international lightning protection standards. Two nonconventional techniques, known generically as "lightning elimination" and "early streamer emission," are claimed by their proponents to be superior to the conventional lightning protection technique. This review by Uman and Rakov explore the claims that “lightning elimination” and “early streamer emission” techniques are superior to conventional lightning protection systems. Click here to view this critical review.