section_path: A fundamental force
section_name: A fundamental force
paragraph_text: A fundamental force
  
  The electromagnetic force is the second strongest of the four known fundamental forces. It operates with infinite range. All other forces (e.g., friction, contact forces) are derived from these four fundamental forces and they are known as non-fundamental forces. At high energy, the weak force and electromagnetic force are unified as a single interaction called the electroweak interaction.
  
  Roughly speaking, all the forces involved in interactions between atoms can be explained by the electromagnetic force acting between the electrically charged atomic nuclei and electrons of the atoms. Electromagnetic forces also explain how these particles carry momentum by their movement. This includes the forces we experience in "pushing" or "pulling" ordinary material objects, which result from the intermolecular forces that act between the individual molecules in our bodies and those in the objects. The electromagnetic force is also involved in all forms of chemical phenomena.
  
  A necessary part of understanding the intra-atomic and intermolecular forces is the effective force generated by the momentum of the electrons' movement, such that as electrons move between interacting atoms they carry momentum with them. As a collection of electrons becomes more confined, their minimum momentum necessarily increases due to the Pauli exclusion principle. The behaviour of matter at the molecular scale including its density is determined by the balance between the electromagnetic force and the force generated by the exchange of momentum carried by the electrons themselves.