See for yourself how the forces of electricity and magnetism can work together by building a motor using simple materials! Electricity and magnetism are both forces caused by the movement of tiny charged particles that make up atoms, the building blocks of all matter. When a wire is hooked up to a battery, negatively charged electrons flow away from the negative terminal of the battery toward the positive end, because opposite charges attract each other, while like (similar) charges repel each other. This flow of electrons through wire is electric current, and it produces a magnetic force.
In a magnet, atoms are lined up so that the negatively charged electrons are all spinning in the same direction. Like electric current, the movement of the electrons creates magnetic force. The area around the magnet where the force is active is called a magnetic field. Metal objects and other magnets that enter this field will be pulled toward the magnet.
