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{{short description|Non-technical introduction to topics in electromagnetism}}
{{about|a conceptual understanding of the topic|a more detailed mathematical treatment|
'''Electromagnetism''' is one of the [[Fundamental interaction|fundamental forces]] of nature. Early on, [[electricity]] and [[magnetism]] were studied separately and regarded as separate phenomena. [[Hans Christian Ørsted]] discovered that the two were related – [[electric current]]s give rise to magnetism. [[Michael Faraday]] discovered the converse, that magnetism could [[electromagnetic induction|induce]] electric currents, and [[James Clerk Maxwell]] put the whole thing together in a unified theory of [[electromagnetism]]. [[Maxwell's equations]] further indicated that [[electromagnetic wave]]s existed, and the experiments of [[Heinrich Hertz]] confirmed this, making [[radio]] possible. Maxwell also postulated, correctly, that [[light]] was a form of electromagnetic wave, thus making all of [[optics]] a branch of electromagnetism. [[Radio wave]]s differ from light only in that the [[wavelength]] of the former is much longer than the latter. [[Albert Einstein]] showed that the [[magnetic field]] arises through the [[Classical electromagnetism and special relativity|relativistic motion]] of the [[electric field]] and thus magnetism is merely a side effect of electricity. The modern theoretical treatment of electromagnetism is as a [[quantum field]] in [[quantum electrodynamics]].
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