The link between electricity and magnetism

AI Thread Summary
Electricity and magnetism are interconnected through Maxwell's equations, which describe how changing electric fields generate magnetic fields and vice versa. Moving electrons create a magnetic field due to the flow of electric current, while a moving magnetic field induces a current in a conductor through electromagnetic induction. The relationship between electricity and magnetism can also be understood through the lens of special relativity, where they are seen as different manifestations of the same force. For a deeper exploration, discussions on field theories and symmetries may provide further insight into the fundamental nature of electromagnetism. Understanding these concepts is essential for grasping the principles of electromagnetism.
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Hey everyone,
I have a few questions. What is the link between electricity and magnetism? Why would moving electrons(current) create a magnetic field? Why does a moving magnetic field induce a current in a conductor?

Thanks for responces.
 
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hover said:
Hey everyone,
I have a few questions. What is the link between electricity and magnetism? Why would moving electrons(current) create a magnetic field? Why does a moving magnetic field induce a current in a conductor?

Wow! *head explodes*

This is an extremely good question, and fun to answer at whatever level you intended it. If you're just asking exactly how electromagnetics behave, I would answer by talking about Maxwell's equations, explaining that changing electric fields produce magnetic fields and vice versa, and so on.

If you're asking, at a slightly more philosophical level, why electricity and magnetism are related by a small set of simple equations, I would talk about Einstein and special relativity and show how electricity and magnetism are in fact exactly the same force, looked at from different points of view (but this requires talking about time dilation and things like that).

If you're asking, at a very philosophical level, why electromagnetism "is", and why these formulas would happen to work out this way in a universe, I would suggest that someone else talk to you about field theories, and symmetries, and stuff I know little about.

Please choose, but choose wisely.
 
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It may be shown from the equations of electromagnetism, by James Clerk Maxwell in the 1860’s, that the speed of light in the vacuum of free space is related to electric permittivity (ϵ) and magnetic permeability (μ) by the equation: c=1/√( μ ϵ ) . This value is a constant for the vacuum of free space and is independent of the motion of the observer. It was this fact, in part, that led Albert Einstein to Special Relativity.
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