In this section we will find out the true nature of magnetism and electricity. Is there a link? Judging by the length of time I have spent, putting these two sections together, you can probably guess what the right answer is. Let us rejoin our friend Magneto in our conversation on magnetism. "So Magneto, what is all this I hear about electromagnets?"

. The key behind that question is the word electromagnet. Notice how you have a combination of electricity and magnetism. Well an interesting property that a wire with current passing through it displays is that the wire experiences a magnetic field. This magnetic field is not like the conventional field you see in a normal magnet (South and North poles), rather, it is a field that is circular. There are no North and South poles. If you remove the current from the wire, the field disappears. So there is a link between electricity and magnetism, the link being an object with an electrical current also has a magnetic field."

"WOW!!!!! That is some funky science Magneto! So a wire with electricity has a magnetic field! I see. What about electric magnets with poles? Can they and do they exist?"

"Yes they do, and they are used quite frequently. If you take the same conducting wire and wrap it into a coil and then pass electricity through it, you end up with a magnet that has a North pole at one end of the coil and a South pole at the opposite end of the coil. The poles exist because of the way the magnetic field changes when the wires are wrapped in a coil. As I was saying, these magnets are very commonly used because they can be made to be very powerful by using high currents and many windings in the coil, and because the magnets can be turned off or on. These are the magnets you see in junkyards."

"Fabulous! So there is a perfect similarity between the atom, a magnet, electrical charge, and electrical current, WOW! This science is cool! Thank you for your time Magneto, and may your magnetic dreams come true."

"And may you get a new hat!

"Ya ya, well this hat cost me $500, it's an import!!"

In the next section, we will learn about some applications of electromagnetism, so to get a charge out of this work, click away!

When current passes through wires, a magnetic field is setup around the wire. The wire can be wound into a coil whereby you end up with an electromagnet with both a North and South poles.

Electromagnets are commonly used because of their strength and ease of use. There are great similarities in the way atoms, charge, magnets, and electrical current behave. All seem to mimic each other.