Q: Will lightning rods installed on the roof help avoid lightning damage to the house?
—Theda Davis, Lilburn
A: Lightning is unpredictable, so installing a lightning rod, or air terminals, as they are sometimes called, to a structure, might not keep it safe from a strike, Richard Kithil, the founder and CEO of the Louisville, Colo.-based National Lightning Safety Institute (NLSI), told Q&A on the News in an email. "Understanding the irregular and unpredictable behavior of the event just makes things more muddy," he said. Lightning rods are usually part of a lightning protection system designed to "intercept the lightning strike," according to the Lightning Protection Institute, a not-for-profit organization based in Maryville, Mo. The system is designed to redirect the current to the ground through conductors and ground rods. Kithil said lightning could hit the lightning rod and travel harmlessly to the ground, like designed. He added that lightning also could travel from the rod into "the electrical and electronic equipment inside a house" or "arc from a lightning rod to start a house fire." "Lightning has its own agenda," Kithil said.
Q: With the new license plates coming out, will the state still offer specialty plates for various causes, colleges, etc.? How will those designs be handled?
—Daniel G. Sobczak, Snellville
A: Specialty plates still will be available and will be phased in as the designs become available, a spokesman with the Department of Revenue told Q&A on the News in an email. A list of the special tags offered by Georgia can be found here: motor.etax.dor.ga.gov/motor/plates/platesamples.aspx
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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