The electromagnetic force is one of the four fundamental forces and it governs the behavior of charged particles. The other three forces are gravity, strong nuclear force, and weak nuclear force. The electromagnetic force is responsible for most of the phenomena we see in our everyday lives such as light, electricity, and magnetism.
The electromagnetic force is caused by the interaction between electrically charged particles. The strength of this interaction depends on two factors: (1) the charges of the particles involved and (2) how far apart these particles are from each other. When charges are close together, they experience a strong repulsive force; when they are far apart, they experience a weaker attractive force. This attractive/repulsive nature underlies all electromagnetic phenomena including light waves, radio waves, X-rays, etc.
One way to think about electromagnetic radiation is that it consists of oscillating electric and magnetic fields that travel through space at the speed of light c (3 x 10^8 m/s). These oscillating fields create vibrations in any matter with which they interact – this includes everything from atoms to people!