electrodynamics

American  

[ih-lek-troh-dahy-nam-iks] / ɪˌlɛk troʊ daɪˈnæm ɪks /

noun

(used with a singular verb)

1. the branch of physics that deals with the interactions of electric, magnetic, and mechanical phenomena.

---

electrodynamics British  

/ ɪˌlɛktrəʊdaɪˈnæmɪks /

noun

1. (functioning as singular) the branch of physics concerned with the interactions between electrical and mechanical forces

---

electrodynamics Scientific  

/ ĭ-lĕk′trō-dī-năm′ĭks /

1. The scientific study of electric charge and electric and magnetic fields, along with the forces and motions those fields induce.

2. See also electromagnetism

---

Etymology

Origin of electrodynamics

First recorded in 1820–30; electro- + dynamics

Example Sentences

Instead, their magnetic moments remain strongly quantum-entangled and in constant collective motion at temperatures close to absolute zero, producing behavior that resembles emergent quantum electrodynamics.

From Science Daily • Dec. 17, 2025

During a talk at a conference, Richard Feynman, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist who devised much of quantum electrodynamics, “without much difficulty shot me to pieces, which I deserved,” he said.

From New York Times • May 8, 2023

He succeeded in the late 1940s in developing an early landmark synthesis of the latest thinking in the theory known as quantum electrodynamics.

From Washington Post • Feb. 28, 2020

Explain how the smooth curve can be described by classical electrodynamics, whereas the peaks require a quantum mechanical interpretation.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

This caused a lot of trouble when the theory of quantum electrodynamics first came out.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife