Practice portal › Electromagnetic Waves › Displacement Current

A parallel plate capacitor is charged by connecting it to a battery through a resistor. If I is the current in the circuit, then in the gap between the plates:

Asked in NEET 2024 · Displacement current equals conduction current

• (1) Displacement current of magnitude equal to I flows in a direction opposite to that of I
• (2) Displacement current of magnitude greater than I flows but can be in any direction
• (3) There is no current
• (4) Displacement current of magnitude equal to I flows in the same direction as I

Step-by-step solution

Why the other options are wrong

• (1) The displacement current continues the conduction current across the gap, so it points the same way, not the opposite way.
• (2) Charge conservation fixes it exactly: I_d=ε₀(dΦ_E)/(dt)=(dq)/(dt)=I, no more and in one definite direction.
• (3) No charge crosses the gap, but the changing field between the plates is a displacement current equal to I.

Reading this solution needs no sign-in. You only sign in to practise against the clock and keep your progress.