ScienceAugust 17, 2026

electromagnetism

ih-LEK-troh-mag-nuh-tiz-uhm

Definition

The branch of physics concerned with the interactions between electric charges and magnetic fields, including phenomena like light and radio waves.

Etymology

The word is a nineteenth-century scientific compound combining 'electric' from the Greek 'elektron' (amber) and 'magnetism' from the Greek 'Magnes' (a region in Thessaly known for lodestones).

In the news

The article introduces electromagnetism to explain that sunlight and wireless communication signals are physically identical in nature to visible light but occupy different frequencies.

The Hidden Waves at the Beach

Read the full article ↗

University of Pennsylvania

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