Why do electric charges create magnetic fields when they move?

A stationary electric charge produces an electric field, but when that charge moves, it also produces a magnetic field. That is why a wire carrying current acts like a magnet and why electromagnets work. The connection between electricity and magnetism was unified mathematically by James Clerk Maxwell in the 19th century, building on experiments by Hans Christian Ørsted and André-Marie Ampère. In modern physics, moving charges and changing electric fields are two linked parts of electromagnetism. This is the force that powers electric motors, generators, radios, and much of everyday technology.