Maxwell's displacement current is

The correct answer is Option (3) → due to changing electric field

Maxwell showed that a changing electric field acts like a current, because it produces a magnetic field just as a conduction current does. The displacement current is

    \( \displaystyle I_{d} = \varepsilon_0\,\frac{d\Phi_E}{dt} \)

Here \( \Phi_E \) is the electric flux.

Option (1) due to flow of charges — Incorrect. The flow of charges is the conduction current.

Option (2) due to changing gravitational field — Incorrect. Gravitational field plays no part.

Option (3) due to changing electric field — Correct. The displacement current arises from a changing electric field.

Option (4) \( \varepsilon_0 \) times the rate of change of magnetic flux — Incorrect. The displacement current is \( \varepsilon_0 \) times the rate of change of the electric flux, not the magnetic flux.

NCERT (2026-27):
Displacement Current – “… The current carried by conductors due to flow of charges is called conduction current. The current, given by Eq. (8.4), is a new term, and is due to changing electric field (or electric displacement, an old term still used sometimes). It is, therefore, called displacement current or Maxwell’s displacement current.”