Jack Painter wrote:
"Modeling examples listed below appear to be incorrect for lightning,
similar to how modeling for ocean waves cannot be done in a bathtub and
even a swimming pool does not closely replicate the action of waves in a
large body of water."

OK. Here are full-scale examples. My company had radio towers over much
of the earth. Standard practice was protection of the beacon atop the
tower with a Copperweld ground rod alongside the beacon with its sharp
tip pointed at the sky. No protected beacon was ever damaged by
lightning.

Our company headquarters skyscraper was protected by short air terminals
ringing the perophery of the builsing at short regular intervals. No
lightning damage yet in half a century.

You may say it is squivalent to the fellow who walks into a bar with a
strange contrivance suspended around his neck. Asked what the gadgst
does, the new arrival says: "it`s an elephant whistle". Reply is:
"There`s no elephants around here." New arrival says: "See. It works,
doesn`t it?"

I can assure that there have been plenty of lightning strikes safely
bypassed to ground around the protected people and equipment, just as
Ben Franklin and others have predicted.

Best regards, Richard Harrison, KB5WZI