"Ian Jackson" wrote
'Protected' is the word. What is not always appreciated is that the
primary purpose of lightning rods (usually called 'lightning conductors'
in the UK) is to PREVENT a strike by allowing the electrical charge to
leak away before sufficient voltage builds up to cause an actual strike.
Ian.

Hi Ian, while Franklin originally thought this was the case, he and others
soon realized that safe handling of a lightning attachment was the function
of his Franklin Rods, NOT avoidance of attachment. There has never been any
proof that any device can prevent a strike from attaching to a particular
point. The controversy surrounding the CTS (Charge Transfer System) and ESE
(Early Streamer Emitters) exposes some of the dumbest junk science ever to
hit the lightning-rod snake-oil trail. It has been thoroughly discredited as
having absolutely zero effectiveness as a preventer and limited usefulness
as a standard Franklin Rod when installed as its snake-oil purveyors
proscribe. So please never assume that any rod, termination device,
voodoo-doll on the roof or anything else can have any affect whatsoever of
preventing a strike from attaching at any particular point.

Jack Painter
Virginia Beach, Virginia