electromagnetic force
[ ĭ-lĕk′trō-măg-nĕt′ĭk ]
The fundamental force associated with electric and magnetic fields. The electromagnetic force is carried by the photon and is responsible for atomic structure, chemical reactions, the attractive and repulsive forces associated with electrical charge and magnetism, and all other electromagnetic phenomena. Like gravity, the electromagnetic force has an infinite range and obeys the inverse-square law. The electromagnetic force is weaker than the strong nuclear force but stronger than the weak force and gravity. Some scientists believe that the electromagnetic force and the weak nuclear force are both aspects of a single force called the electroweak force.
Words Nearby electromagnetic force
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
How to use electromagnetic force in a sentence
The electromagnetic force between the electrons lets you pick up the cup, counteracting gravity in the process.
The Equivalence Principle and Testing Einstein With Spaceships and Atoms | Matthew R. Francis | June 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe medicine worked because the photon–the quantum bundle of light and the carrier of the electromagnetic force–has no mass.
Finding Higgs Boson, or God Particle, Will Resolve Scientific Mysteries | Frank Close | December 17, 2011 | THE DAILY BEASTIn the case of the electromagnetic force, a panacea was found in 1947, excising infinity to reveal finite, correct, answers.
Finding Higgs Boson, or God Particle, Will Resolve Scientific Mysteries | Frank Close | December 17, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
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