For Adults Only! You have to understand inductance.
Science is the definition of units. Math is the accounting of those units. The coil has a property called inductance. The unit of inductance is the "Henry". If you put a conductor (metal) near the coil, you change its "inductance". Inductance by definition is the ability to oppose a change in current flow. Capacitance is the ability to oppose a change in voltage. The "capacitor" of your detector is in the detectors control box. The detector creates a "radio frequency" that is determined by the inductance of the coil and the capacitance value of the capacitor. If you put metal near your inductor (the coil) you change the inductance. Two equal coils of wire have the same inductance. A coil with metal in it will have more inductance than a coil with out.
So basically you have a radio in your hands when you metal detect. The radio is tuned by coil and a capacitor. When metal changes the coils inductance, you hear a beep from the detector! There are many ways to use the property of inductance to detect metal. I can't go into all of them. So in a nutshell the detector just measures a change in inductance. Maybe somebody else can come up with a simpler explanation...
I think I just learned that if you wave a search coil in front of it, it might not work. If that is true, the correct answer can only be "don't wave a search coil in front of it".