the story of benjamin franklin's kite is known everywhere.he had been experimenting with electricity，and in 1751 hadpublished a paper saying that electricity and lightning were thesame thing.both were bright，both were the same yellow color，both made a noise，both made crooked flashes， and both wouldpass through metal.
in order to test his claim，he and his son took a kite made ofsilk（because it is stronger than paper）， and added a long wire tothe top and a piece of silk to the end of the string with which hecontrolled the kite.a metal key was hung where the silk andstring met. they flew the kite up into a thunderstorm， keepingthemselves dry under a roof. when the kite reached the stormclouds，franklin noticed that all the loose parts of his string beganto stand up and shake.when the kite touched lightning，a sparkran down the string to the key；a rush of electric sparks beganto appear on the key.as the string became wetter，the sparkscame faster.they were sparks of electricity.lightning was in－deed electricity.
franklin decided to use this knowledge in a practical way.heinvented the lightning rod.ladies in europe took to wearinglightning rods on their hats and trailing a ground wire—a fadthat began after benjamin franklin published instructions on howto make them，in his almanac，poor richardh improved， in 1753.
本杰明·富兰克林的风筝的故事闻名遐迩。他一直在进行有关电学的实验。1751年他发表了一篇论文，其中谈到电流和闪电是同一样的东西。两者都是闪亮的，都是黄色的，都发出响声，都引起弯曲的闪光，而且都能通过金属。
为了证实他的主张，他和他的儿子拿了一只用丝绸制成的风筝（因为丝绸比纸更结实），把一根长金属丝接在风筝的顶端，并且把一块丝绸系在他用来控制风筝的绳子末端。在丝绸和绳子的连接处，挂着一只金属钥匙。他们把风筝放入雷雨中去，自己站在屋顶下，以免被雨淋湿。当风筝到达风暴云时，富兰克林注意到，绳子的全部松弛部分开始向上竖起并且摆动起来。当风筝接触闪电时，便有一个火花沿着绳子飞向金属钥匙，随后一大串电火花开始在钥匙上出现；绳子越湿，火花来得越快。这些就是电火花。闪电确实就是电火花。
富兰克林决定把这一知识运用到实际中去。他发明了避雷针。1753年，本杰明·富兰克林在他的历书《改进了的可怜的理查德》上发表了如何制造避雷针，这之后一种风尚开始了——欧洲的妇女们开始在帽子上装一个避雷针，还拖着一根接地线。