Standardization of lightning protection based on the physics or on the tradition

Abstract Since the installation of the first “lightning protection system” by Franklin the main principles remained valid up to the present day. Namely, to intercept, to conduct down and to ground. Then the first recommendations rarely gave general rules but following the tradition of “Make this!” While the materials and the sizes of structures were similar, this method was acceptable. However as conditions changed, many problems arose. The new results of research conducted in the 20th century have almost no effect on the standardization of lightning protection systems. Finally, the International Electrical Commission (IEC) and European standardization followed the old traditional way in the case of external lightning protection systems. In contrast the standard is based on physical knowledge in the case of Lightning Electro-Magnetic Pulse (LEMP) since traditional approaches were not considered. The recent problems of the standardizing of external lightning protection of structures cannot be managed by the simple manipulation of available models, and therefore new approaches need to be considered.