In message , Cecil Moore
writes
Szczepan Bia³ek wrote:
It is a history: "In the early days of lightning conductors, I
believe that the French
didn't like the nasty pointy things which the British had installed.
Instead, they decorated theirs with fancy balls at the top - with
sometimes disastrous results.

I assume a certain biased reporting of anecdotal evidence.:-)

A ball at the top hat of a Tesla coil allows a greater
amplitude of voltage to build up before arcing than does
a point at the top. Therefo

Points should result in more lightning strikes at lower
voltages.

Balls should result in fewer lightning strikes at lower
voltages.

Did you mean 'higher'?

Can't think of any valid reason why either design
should be able to avoid the really big one.

Surely, when lightning is about, points allow an essentially continuous
discharge at a low current, while balls allow the voltage to build up
and up, until there is a big 'splat'?
--
Ian