  A long-standing controversy concerning the causes of the magnetic field in
and around a parallel-plate capacitor is examined. Three possible sources of
contention are noted and detailed. The first is the ambiguous initial
impression given by the calculation of the magnetic field using the integral
form of Ampere-Maxwell's Law which incorporates the displacement current
density. The second is misinterpretation of this law as a cause-effect formula.
The third is insufficient recognition of the fact that the electric field in
Maxwell's equations represents the sum of the well-distinguished irrotational
and divergence-free fields, which are independently responsible for
conservation of charge and the existence of the electromagnetic waves,
respectively.
