What is the production of an electric current by a changing magnetic field called?

The production of an electric current by a changing magnetic field is called electromagnetic induction.

A changing magnetic flux through a conductor produces an electromotive force, or induced voltage. If the conductor forms a closed circuit, that voltage drives a current. Faraday’s law expresses the effect quantitatively: the induced emf equals the negative rate of change of magnetic flux. The negative sign represents Lenz’s law, meaning the induced effect opposes the change that produced it.

Michael Faraday demonstrated electromagnetic induction in 1831, independently discovering that changing magnetic conditions could generate electricity. Joseph Henry made related discoveries around the same period. James Clerk Maxwell later expressed Faraday’s findings mathematically as part of the theory of electromagnetism.

Electromagnetic induction powers electrical generators, transformers, induction motors, wireless charging systems, and many sensors. A common misconception is that a static magnetic field alone necessarily creates current. In a stationary loop, the magnetic field must change, or the conductor must move so that the magnetic flux through it changes. Electromagnetic radiation is related but is not the name of this current-producing process.