electromagnetism and the photon

[jleask]

A simple question:
The force carrying particle for electromagnetism is the photon.

Is the photon travelling from the N-pole of a magnet different from the photon travelling from the S-pole of a magnet?

If not, how do the fields/photons know whether to attract or repel?

[pallidin]

Welcome.

To begin, the "photon" is a "carrier" of force in an electromagnetic system only under certain circumstances, specifically those circumstances where internal/external energy is absorbed, and then released(as a photon)
A magnet in and of itself will not produce a photon because the magnetic field created is not associated with changes in electron shell values.
Because there are no changes in shell values required for photon emmission, photons are not emmitted in a magnet(unless heated)
Therefore, photons, as we know them, are not produced with the magnetic field at all.
The magnetic field is an "effect", NOT an emmission.