this post was submitted on 29 Jul 2025
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When was this written? Also, it's not entirely untrue to say that we know what electromagnetic force does, but not what causes it. They say it's a 'fundamental force', which is basically way of saying we can't further reduce it to explain in terms of other stuff. We don't know what any of the fundamental forces (electromagnetism, gravity, and the strong and weak nuclear forces) really are - we can only describe their effects on the world with maths ('what they do')
Given it has a (good quality) color photo attached to it, it was definitely published when we already understood the theory of electricity really well, so it doesn't get a pass.
I'd argue that for fundamental forces, "what they are" and "what they do" is the same, by definition.
And in any case, mains supply in your home is not just electromagnetic waves vibing around, it's electrons engineered to move through wires in very specific ways, transferring power from a moving magnet or (increasingly) a photon falling on a semiconductor junction, to move another magnet, heat up some metal, or (increasingly) bounce around some electrons between some semiconductor junctions and then emit photons from other semiconductors junctions.
Finally, most of the text is bullshit even if you don't think we know what fundamental forces "are":
You can easily feel electric discharge. Just rub your hair on some wool.
Just be around a thunderstorm. Thunder is the sound of an electric discharge.
You can see where the energy that moved the electrons in your wires came from: https://app.electricitymaps.com/
It was written by a complete and utter buffoon, and it can't be redeemed with any amount of handwaving or philosophizing over what it means to "know" or what things "are". Either that or it's satire (which might well be the case).
I think it might be real: