certainly be more limiting if we referenced all of these effects simply as electromagnetism at work.

We want to consider just a bit more about these various sensory manifestations. For example, how does the electromagnetic force relate to acoustic compression (sound) waves or to chemical reactions? It is non-intuitive to recognize that the vast majority of physical interactions that we’re aware of in our everyday lives are in fact due to the electromagnetic force. When we lay a book upon a table, no atoms of the book ever touch the atoms in the table; or, in fact, do they? What do we actually mean by touch anyway? Well, at the atomic level, touch means that the electron cloud of the surface atoms of the book repels the electron cloud of the surface atoms of the table. So, at a very primary level, touch indicates an action at a distance, albeit a very small distance. So, the metaphor is quite accurate when we say, “I was touched by her portrayal of Juliet.”

Sound, on the other hand, is a pressure wave in which a group of molecules in a material, when set in motion by having their electron clouds repulsed by the electron clouds of some other material, proceed to move until their electron clouds bump into the electron clouds of other molecules in the material. Energy is transferred from one molecule to the next molecule, and the compression wave propagates through the material.

We know that at a macroscopic level, matter tends to be perceived as gaseous, liquid or solid. It is interesting to consider the characteristics of the electromagnetic force that enable this differentiation. Electrons that occur as constituent components of atoms are attracted to atomic nuclei by the electromagnetic force. As the number of electrons increases in concert with an increased number of protons within the atomic nucleus, the strength of the binding between a specific electron and the nucleus becomes greater. In certain configurations of adjacent atoms, one or more electrons may actually be shared between different atoms; perhaps even atoms of different elements. This results in a binding of the two atoms together; the sharing of electrons forming what is called a chemical bond. Such binding of atoms results in molecules of various types. Molecules in turn form aggregations based on similar electron sharing. This can range from the tenuous collections of molecules that we know as gases, to the more tightly bound, yet highly malleable collections we know as liquids. Finally, extremely tight bonds can form solids; ranging from highly symmetrical formations of atoms in crystals to more seemingly random formations found in less structurally integrated materials.

Electromagnetic based interactions involving the transfer of energy among the various participants in an interaction also come in several macroscopically observable flavors: conduction, convection and radiation. Conduction involves the movement of energy within a material, perhaps through the diffusion of internal kinetic energy (heat) or the propagation of electrons (electrical current). Convection refers to the transfer of energy through a material by moving the material itself; this is typically observed as a movement of fluids. Radiation is the presentation of the internal kinetic energy of a material as quanta of electromagnetic energy. Relative to the human body, this most often refers to low frequency variants of electromagnetic energy that we typically perceive as heat. An interaction based on conduction mechanisms involves the transfer of energy from one mass to another through direct interaction of the electron clouds of the surface components of the two masses. Such mechanisms may also actually entail the transfer of mass. Convection based interactions are typically associated with fluids and denote the transfer of energy from a static mass to a fluid mass and the subsequent dissipation of energy within the fluid mass. This fluid mass might be brought in contact with another static mass, resulting in a further transfer of energy from the fluid to the second mass. Finally, radiation involves the transfer of energy through the

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