Minute physics: Real world telekinesis

How do magnets affect things at a distance? How does the Sun heat our planet from 93 million miles away? How can we send messages across the world with our cell phones? We take these seemingly simple things for granted, but in fact there was a time not too long ago when the processes behind them were poorly understood, if at all… and, to the uninformed, there could seem to be a certain sense of "magic" about them.

This video from MinutePhysics, featuring director of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics Neil Turok, illustrates how our understanding of electromagnetic fields was developed and why there's nothing magic about it… except, perhaps, how they pack all that excellent info into 5 minutes. Enjoy!