1. The nature of electromagnetic fields
Around a permanent magnet there is something that make an iron particle jump through space to the magnet. Obviously, there is an invisible entity, a phenomenon that exerts a force on the iron, but as to just what it consists of, nobody knows; the phenomenon is called a magnetic field. A different, but analogous phenomenon extends outward from electrically charged objects, exerting a force on other charged objects; this is called an electric field.
Fig. 1a: Magnetic field lines may be found by using a small compass. The north pole of the compass points in the direction of the field at any point.
Fig. 1b:Iron filings become induced magnets and conveniently outline the pattern of magnetic field
Fig. 2: Electric field.
Both electric and magnetic fields are really just abstractions scientists have made up to try to understand the actions of electricity and magnetism at a distance, produced by no known intervening material or energy, a phenomenon that used to be considered impossible until it became undeniable. Physicists have been trying for generations to solve the fundamental mysteries of electromagnetism, and no one, not even Einstein, has yet succeeded.

There is a relation between the two types of fields; when an electrically charged particle is moving, a magnetic field is created around it in addition to the existing electric field. The combination of an electric and a magnetic field is called an electromagnetic field, or EMF.

When the factor of time is introduced, by varying the intensity of the field as in a radio antenna or in a wire conducting an alternating current (AC), the phenomenon of a time varying EMF is generated. The fluctuations (time variance) in the field radiate outward from the antenna or wire (transmitter) as waves of energy. Sometimes these waves of energy behave as streams of massless, chargeless particles called photons. This is especially the case when the frequency is high. Photons are also called quanta of energy.

  
Fig. 3: Electromagnetic wave.

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