Is it acceptable to use a handrail to interconnect a lightening protection system

I recall from some training I had on lightning protection, albeit many years ago, that one of the concepts to remember is that lightning and the path the current takes, is different from regular AC and DC power circuits. Regular power current will of course happily flow around bends, loops, long circuitous paths flowing along the route of the conductor. Whereas lightning being a travelling surge of current, thousands of amps at millions of volts, wants to follow the most direct, straight path down to earth, irrespective of where that takes it. 90 degree bends, loops, or other long and winding paths appear as high impedances to the lightning surge, so when it encounters these it takes the shortest path, arcing across them, and even punching its way through building materials such as walls, floors, jumping over to more convenient metallic routes down to earth.

The role of the lightning protection is to provide the most straight, direct, low impedance path down to earth so the lightning flows down that route rather than taking alternative routes which results in damage to the building.

Looking at your hand-rail, my concern would be with the path for the lightning. It needs to come down from the aerial, at which point I'd wonder what metallic structures and cables run down the lift room to earth (metal rails for the lift, cables and tray, plumbing etc) and how they are interconnected to the lightning protection system, whether it might arc through the roof or walls and follow that direct path.

But assuming it follows the LPS across the roof, I'd wonder if it will follow the dog-leg route from the roof, vertically upwards onto the hand rail, then back down again, a total of 4 sharp, 90 degree bends. I wonder whether in reality, the lightning surge would head along the conductor, then take the shortest route, arcing across to the metallic cable tray and possibly the cables on the tray, along the tray, then arc across to the down conductor near the edge of the roof.

I recall from some training I had on lightning protection, albeit many years ago, that one of the concepts to remember is that lightning and the path the current takes, is different from regular AC and DC power circuits. Regular power current will of course happily flow around bends, loops, long circuitous paths flowing along the route of the conductor. Whereas lightning being a travelling surge of current, thousands of amps at millions of volts, wants to follow the most direct, straight path down to earth, irrespective of where that takes it. 90 degree bends, loops, or other long and winding paths appear as high impedances to the lightning surge, so when it encounters these it takes the shortest path, arcing across them, and even punching its way through building materials such as walls, floors, jumping over to more convenient metallic routes down to earth.

The role of the lightning protection is to provide the most straight, direct, low impedance path down to earth so the lightning flows down that route rather than taking alternative routes which results in damage to the building.

Looking at your hand-rail, my concern would be with the path for the lightning. It needs to come down from the aerial, at which point I'd wonder what metallic structures and cables run down the lift room to earth (metal rails for the lift, cables and tray, plumbing etc) and how they are interconnected to the lightning protection system, whether it might arc through the roof or walls and follow that direct path.

But assuming it follows the LPS across the roof, I'd wonder if it will follow the dog-leg route from the roof, vertically upwards onto the hand rail, then back down again, a total of 4 sharp, 90 degree bends. I wonder whether in reality, the lightning surge would head along the conductor, then take the shortest route, arcing across to the metallic cable tray and possibly the cables on the tray, along the tray, then arc across to the down conductor near the edge of the roof.