Kites as Tools, Franklin

Mr. Franklin what did you do with that kite?
In 1752, Benjamin Franklin was doing an experiment with a kite to prove that lightning was the same thing as the electric sparks they were producing with magnets and primitive batteries. He wondered if he could harness the lightning and send it to the ground in a predictable path thus saving many structures that were struck by lightening, with explosive results. From this experiment he developed the lightening rod. This device, a metal rod with a wire that runs to the ground, provides lightening a path to the ground, thus grounding it and preventing damage to buildings. In order to do the experiment, he built a kite out of a silk scarf, two sticks, cotton line, a key and a piece of silk ribbon. He sent the kite up in a thunderstorm and after the line got wet the key at the end of the line became electrified and would produce sparks to his knuckle. The key was tied to the silk ribbon, which did not conduct electricity as well, he held this ribbon and stood under a shed roof where he would stay dry and he could be standing on dry ground. In this way he did not provide a direct path for the electricity to get to the ground. The lightening never actually struck the kite. There was enough electricity in the atmosphere to prove the point. This story was conveyed by letter, to a friend of his in England. The friend published it to the scientific community in Europe and Franklin was an overnight celebrity there. Some say that when he became an ambassador to France to plead for funds for the revolution it is this notoriety that opened doors for Franklin and thus the fledgling United States got the help it needed.