Magnets are used in countless electronic gadgets like audio speakers, doorbells, computer hard drives and in the construction of ‘Magnetic Levitation (Maglev) trains’. Through this ScienceStruck article, I present a magnetism vs gravity comparison, which will illuminate the major differences in the nature of these two force fields that pervade nature.Īll conductors with an electric current flowing through them, have a magnetic field around them, making them ‘electromagnets’. While the force of gravity felt by a particle is purely dependent on mass, electromagnetic forces are mediated by charge. On the other hand, at microscopic scales, electromagnetic force determines atomic structure, determining the properties of materials.
Gravity is the force which determines the large-scale structure of space time by clumping together matter from planetary scales to galactic clusters, determining the ultimate fate of the universe. Both magnetism (as one aspect of the electromagnetic force) and gravity are two fundamental forces of nature, which mold matter at the microscopic and macroscopic scales. While we owe it to gravity, to keep our feet firmly grounded on Earth, it is due to magnetism that devices like electric generators, motors, fans, hard drives and countless other electronic gadgets help make our life comfortable.
