What are the functions of conductive foam?

In a thunderstorm, when a charged cloud layer appeared over a high-rise building, the lightning rod and the top of the tall building were induced with a large amount of charges. Because the lightning rod needle is pointed, the conductor tip always gathers the most electric charges when it is electrostatically induced. In this way, the lightning rod gathers most of the charge. The lightning rod again forms a capacitor with these charged cloud layers. Because it is more pointed, that is, the capacitor's bipolar plate has a small area and the capacitance is very small, that is, it can hold a small amount of charge. And it gathers most of the charge, so when there is more charge on the cloud, the air between the lightning rod and the cloud can easily break down and become a conductor. In this way, the charged cloud layer forms a path with the lightning rod, and the lightning rod is grounded. The lightning rod can guide the charge on the cloud layer to the earth so that it does not pose a danger to high-rise buildings and ensure its safety.

lightning rod:

Lightning rods, also known as lightning protection needles, are devices used to protect buildings, tall trees, etc. from lightning strikes.

The lightning arrester consists of a lightning receptor, a ground lead wire, and a grounding body. The air-termination device usually uses a round steel or steel pipe with a diameter of 15 to 20 mm and a length of 1 to 2 m, and is fixed to the upper end of the column and connected to the grounding body via a ground lead wire. When the thundercloud ground discharge channel develops to the ground, because the tip of the lightning rod protrudes from the ground and is well grounded, the electric field strength near the needle tip increases, accumulates opposite polarity charge, guides the discharge to the direction of the lightning rod, and finally hits the lightning rod. Lightning strike energy is effectively introduced into the earth.