How do magnetism and electricity turn into one force?
Quick Answer
They are two aspects of electromagnetism, linked by moving charges and changing electric fields. James Clerk Maxwell unified them mathematically in the 1860s.
The Full Story
Electricity and magnetism are unified under electromagnetism because each can produce the other. A changing electric field creates a magnetic field, and moving electric charges generate magnetism. James Clerk Maxwell showed this mathematically in the 1860s, and his equations predicted electromagnetic waves traveling at the speed of light. That led to the realization that light itself is an electromagnetic wave. Modern physics later refined this picture with quantum theory, where the interaction is carried by photons.
Key Facts
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