How does magnetism affect electricity?

In brief, people often call the fields of electricity and magnetism by the term "electromagnetism." The reason for this name is that electricity and magnetism are very closely related. They both deal with the movement of electric charges like the electrons that flow through wires, that we know as electricity. read more

Basically, the flow of electricity through a wire creates magnetic fields, and certain types of magnetic fields (they have to change with time) cause the flow of electricity. Generators of electricity use magnets to generate the electricity. Electric motors use both electricity and magnets to create motion. read more

Curiously (and happily for our sense of symmetry!), the reverse effect is also true: Move a loop of wire across the pole of a magnet, and a current will begin to flow in the wire. This, of course, is the principle of the electric generator. read more