Permanent Magnet Motor with Passively Controlled Variable Rotor/Stator Alignment

An electric motor including: a first and second subsystems, one of which is a magnetic rotor assembly and the other of which is a coil stator assembly; a hub assembly supporting the magnetic rotor assembly and the coil stator assembly and defining an axis of rotation; and a bearing assembly supporting at least one of the first and second subsystems on the hub assembly, wherein the first subsystem has an array of lift-generating elements for generating axially directed magnetic fields, the second subsystem has an electrically conductive region aligned with and opposite to the array of lift-generating elements of the first subsystem, and wherein the bearing assembly enables the magnetic rotor assembly to rotate about the rotational axis of the hub assembly and enables the separation distance of the magnetic rotor assembly from the coil stator assembly to change.