Magnetism differs from charge because splitting a magnet gives two more magnets, each with its own north and south pole (Figure 5.13), but dividing a positive-negative charge produces positive and negative parts. Also, joining two small magnets gives a big one, so big magnets come from small ones, and the smallest possible magnet is the electron.
Electrons explain why metals can be magnets but not plastics. Copper can conduct electricity because its electrons move freely, and it becomes a magnet for the same reason. The electrons in a metal usually point randomly but if they all point the same way, it becomes a magnet (Figure 5.14). In contrast, the electrons in plastics can’t move freely, so plastic can’t conduct electricity or become magnetic. Electrons then explain electricity and magnetism.
In physics, an electron is essentially a tiny magnet, whose north pole is at right angles to its spin, and whose south pole is the opposite, so could spin cause magnetism?
Quantum theory requires all matter to spin, so it is a basic property of matter, like mass and charge. It is said to be imaginary because an electron is a point particle that can’t spin, but in this model, electrons really spin.
If spin causes magnetism, north and south poles are directions not parts, just as a plate always has a top and bottom, so magnets always split into two magnets, as separated spins still have an up and down. Charges can then divide as plate of two colors can divide into them, but magnetic poles can’t divide, as every part of a plate still has a top and bottom. It follows that there can never be a north pole without a south pole.
Particle models in contrast postulate magnetic monopoles, elementary particles with one magnetic pole. Nothing in Maxwell’s equations of magnetism prohibits them, so despite no evidence, they are argued to exist (Rajantie, 2016). But if spin causes magnetism, monopoles don’t exist, so this is yet another fruitless search, like that for gravitons.
What then does spin do? By the Pauli exclusion principle, opposite-spin electrons can occupy the same point but same-spin electrons can’t. This applies because electrons can spin into different regions of quantum space (4.7.1), so if one spins up and the other down, they don’t overlap, while same-spin electrons compete for the same space. Spin then lets opposite spin electrons occupy the same point but not same spin electrons.
Quantum processing spreads, so the quantum distribution around a magnet includes its spin. It doesn’t affect gravity much, but between magnets, spin has an effect. Between opposite magnets, opposite spins co-exist so space deepens, but between same magnets, same-spins compete for the same space by the Pauli principle, so space is shallower.
Between opposite magnets, deeper space means less competition so the network runs faster. Magnets then restart more often where the field is faster, so they move together, i.e. attract. But between same magnets, same-spin electrons compete for the same space, so the network runs slower. Magnets then restart more often away from each other, so they move apart, i.e. repel. It follows that magnets attract or repel by biasing the speed of the quantum field between them, just as charges do, but for a different reason.
In this model, gravity, charge, and magnetism move matter in the same way, by biasing the quantum field around it. Gravity biases the field strength around matter to attract it only. Charges and magnets move each other by biasing the speed of the field between them, to attract or repel. In all cases, matter moves when changes in the field around it make it tremble more often one way.
Yet if charge and magnetism both involve electrons, why don’t static charges affect magnets? If magnetism is a spin direction, and charge is a processing remainder, these properties won’t interact. Spin doesn’t change charge, and charge doesn’t change spin, so they don’t affect each other.
Why then are electrical and magnetic fields at right angles? Electrons as one-dimensional matter can only move as matter on one axis. When an electric field creates a current, electrons move in the same direction and so align their matter axes to do this, which also aligns their spins. An electron always spins at right angles to its matter axis, so the magnetic field is always at right angles to the current direction.
Currents then cause magnetism because aligning electrons to move in a direction also makes them spin the same way, which is magnetism. Electrons moving in one direction down a wire spin one way, and in the other direction spin the opposite way. Equally, when a magnet moves, it acts to align the electron’s axes so they move as a current.
Why then does magnetism fade faster than charge? Charge decreases as an inverse square because it spreads on a two-dimensional sphere surface but when spin deepens space, magnetism must also spread in a third dimension. The effect disappears between same poles, so magnetism fades on average more than an inverse square but less than an inverse cube.
In summary, gravity, charge, and magnetism move objects by biasing the quantum field, where gravity biases its strength and magnetism and charge bias its speed. Gravity, charge, and magnetism then all arise from the same quantum field.