Quarky Explores New York
Why does the Empire State Building want to be hit by lightning?
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The story
Quarky zips up to the top of the Empire State Building just as a storm rolls in. Lightning cracks into the spire again and again, and instead of hurting the building it slides safely down a metal path into the ground. Quarky learns that the tallest thing around becomes the sky's favorite target, and a lightning rod gives that huge spark a boring, safe road to travel.
What you'll learn
- Lightning takes the easiest path to the ground, and metal is the easiest path of all.
- A lightning rod protects a building by giving the spark a safe road down to the earth.
- The Empire State Building gets struck dozens of times a year and is totally fine.
- Quarky takeaway: the safest way to handle something powerful is to give it somewhere to go.
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