Motor drive

A synchronous motor is driven by generating a drive signal comprising a non-continuous series of full cycle pulses of a specified time period T. The timing of the full cycle pulses corresponds to a desired motor rotation characteristic. Each full cycle pulse may be substantially sinusoidal. Each full cycle pulse may start and end at a zero crossing. At least two pulses in the drive signal may be separated by a period of substantially zero value. Different motor drive signals may be generated in response to different desired motor rotation characteristics. The motor rotation characteristic may be a profile of rotational speed and/or position which varies over time. The synchronous motor may be a single phase or three phase motor. The timing of the full cycle pulses may be determined using counter circuitry or a look up table and may be dependent on the synchronous speed of the motor. The arrangement may be suitable for use in applications such as clocks and other time critical drive mechanisms.