The basics of a Permanent DC Motor. Below is a basic electromagnet where a battery is supplying a current to a coil of insulated wire that is wound around an iron core. The current flowing in the wire produces a circular magnetic field around the wire which also permeates the iron magnetizing the iron core. The iron core now becomes an electromagnet with a North and South poles. If the batteries were reversed, the current would flow in the opposite direction in the coil causing the induced magnetic field to reverse. See the diagram below. ELECTROMAGNET Below is a diagram of a basic permanent DC Motor. Here the stator is a two pole permanent magnet shown with a North and South Pole which mounted just inside the motors outer housing. In between the two poles is a coil wrapped around an iron core making an electromagnet. This electromagnet is designed in such a way that it must be able to rotate just inside the pole faces of the permanent magnet. This electromagnet is called an armature and has a shaft mounted on bearings which extend out opposite ends of the motor housing. This shaft extension is used where rotational power is needed. In order to make the shaft spin the North pole of the electromagnet must pass in front of the North pole of the permanent magnet and South pole of the electromagnet must pass in front of the South pole of