Can someone please explain magnetism in child speak

[VALIS]

ICP were mocked for their song Miracles which included the line "magnets, how do they work", but this is an uncomfortable truth for me, I don't really know how magnetism works!.

Okay, so you have two magnets, with electrons lined up, spinning and exiting the north pole and going towards the south creating the magnetic field, right, and like poles repel and unlike poles attract, we all know this. But my question fundamentally is why?

What is the process going on there between the electrons that allows the unlike poles to attract and the like poles to repel? What are the electrons doing to one another down there for this to happen?

Is it something to do with electron spin in different directions or something?

(PS I know this question is like totally blasphemeous and ridiculous or something with someone like Feynman in my avatar)

[VALIS]

No one knows then?

[Col. Tartleton]

Electromagnetism is a fundamental force. AFAIK we can only describe them.

Something is happening.

I blame magic.

[Sphere]

In quantum mechanical terms, the electrons are simply exchanging photons. The Photon is the force carrying particle for the electromagnetic force. Photons only interact with particles which have "charge". The Strong nuclear force ("Gluons" acting on particles with "Color") and the Weak nuclear force("W&Z bosons" acting on particles with "Isospin") are described in the same way

We don't usually notice electromagnetism at a distance because particles can have both negative and positive charge and thus clusters of particles (atoms, molecules, matter etc) tend to be net neutral. This is in contrast to gravity where "mass" can only be positive, and thus clusters of particles do cause noticeable forces over a distance.

Magnetism arises in the classical sense because any moving charged particle creates a magnetic dipole moment. As electrons are both spinning and orbiting, they have a magnetic dipole moment, and are essentially tiny bar magnets. If you can get them all aligned properly, you will notice it on a macroscale, but it is always there.

In a quantum sense ... well ... crap, just read this. I cannot get my head completely around it. Feynman figured it out, and actually the correct prediction of the Anomalous magnetic dipole moment is one of the strongest bits of evidence for the validity of QED.

[Jack04]

Seems the most apt response.

(Magnets start at about 4 mins or so)

... although, Sphere's response is more fundamental ofc.