10/01/2021
๐๐ข๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ?
Why do you think magnets stick? Magnets attract each other because they exchange photons or the particles that makeup light. But unlike the photons streaming out of a desk lamp or reflecting off of everything you see around you, these photons are virtual, and your eyes (or any particle detector) can't "see" them. They can, however, exchange momentum, and this is why they stick to things or repel them. When a kid throws a dodge ball, they're exchanging momentum with the ball, and the thrower feels a slight push back. Meanwhile, the target person feels the force of the ball, and (maybe) gets knocked over โ they are "repelled" from the thrower. With photons, the process can also happen in reverse, as though one kid reached out and grabbed the ball while the other was still hanging on to it, which would look like an attractive force.
Photons are the force carriers not only for magnets but also for electrostatic phenomena like static electricity, and it's why electromagnetism is the term we use for effects produced by these phenomena โ including light, which is an electromagnetic wave.