Maxwell's Displacement Current

Maxwell's displacement current is a concept that extends the idea of electric current to changing electric fields. When an electric field varies over time, it can produce a magnetic field, even without actual moving charges like electrons. Maxwell introduced the displacement current to account for this effect in situations such as charging a capacitor, where a changing electric field exists between the plates. It behaves mathematically like a real current and ensures that Maxwell’s equations remain consistent, unifying electricity and magnetism and explaining how electromagnetic waves propagate through space.