[ELI5] How do photons mediates the electromagnetic force?

Question

[ELI5] How do photons mediates the electromagnetic force?

In: 10

Answer 1

Photons are little bits of energy that help with the force that makes magnets stick together or push apart. When you have two charged things, like when you rub your socks on the carpet, they make a kind of energy field around them.

This energy field can send out waves, like when you throw a rock in a pond and it makes ripples. The waves are made up of photons, and they carry the force that makes things with opposite charges stick together and things with the same charges push away from each other.

So, photons are like messengers that carry the energy that makes the force work. They travel through the air and bump into other charged things, making them stick together or push apart.