A mathematical term explaining how magnetic fields can be generated in regions where no actual charge is flowing, such as the gap between capacitor plates. It is not a physical current of moving electrons, but rather the effect of a time-varying electric field. This changing field produces a magnetic field exactly as a real conduction current would, allowing alternating current to effectively pass through an insulator.
At these high frequencies, the displacement current through the parasitic capacitance becomes a major source of interference.
Rookies often look for a physical path of electrons; remember that displacement current is just a changing electric field acting like a current.
Related terms
Displacement
The shift of bound charges within a dielectric material when subjected to an external electric field.
Electric current
The directed flow of electric charge through a conductive medium.
Electric field
A region of space where an electric charge experiences a force.
Magnetic circuit
The closed path followed by magnetic flux lines in an electrical machine or device.