VERTICAL AIRTERMINAL SYSTEM

A pointed lightning rod or air terminal or a single mast will help prevent lightning from striking in the immediate vicinity because it will help reduce the difference in potential between earth and cloud by “bleeding off” charge and therefore reducing the chance of a direct strike.
This lightning rod or air terminal or a single mast will provide a cone shaped zone of protection with angle of 45 degree forming a circular base on the ground around a building or part of a building.
Many decades of experience shows that by combining Franklin rods located at critical points on a structure with a proper down conductor and grounding system the damage due to lightning could be reduced significantly.