The Methods of Calculating Heights of Lightning Rods and the Design of the Calculating Software

It is essential to calculate the height of lightning rods in order to make them function efficiently. But sometimes the calculation can be complex. In order to calculate the heights of lightning rods, we follow the principle of “Centering on the axis line and firstly focus on the upper level”. With the help of tools like Borland C++ Builder, a computing software for calculating the height of lightning rods was designed, and it can cover the calculations of the height(s) of one single lightning rod; two lightning rods of the same height; and two lightning rods with different heights, using polygon method. It can also deal with the calculation of the height of one single lightning rod using rolling ball method. The main points of the calculation, the main program code of the software and several examples are shown in the paper. After comparison and verification, the results given by the software are reliable. The use of the software can greatly reduce the burden of calculation during the design of lightning rods.