Rotary electric motor having axially aligned stator poles and/or rotor poles

A rotary electric motor comprising:

• a rotor comprising a plurality of permanent magnet elements disposed in an annular ring configuration about an axis of rotation and a cylindrical backplate, the magnet elements successively alternating in magnetic polarity along an inner annular surface of the backplate;
• and
• a stator spaced from the rotor by a radial air gap, the stator including a plurality of ferromagnetic core segments having respective coils wound thereon to form stator windings, the core segments separated from direct contact with each other and disposed along the radial air gap, each stator segment comprising a pair of poles aligned with each other in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation, the stator thereby comprising a first set of stator poles in radial alignment and an axially displaced second set of stator poles in radial alignment.