Disclosed is a linear synchronous motor comprising an elongate stator extending in a longitudinal direction and having a plurality of coil windings, and a runner having a multiplicity of successive magnets disposed along the length thereof the longitudinal direction. The elongate stator has a plurality of elongate-stator segments arranged successively in the longitudinal direction, with each elongate-stator segment separated from the next successive elongate-stator segment by a gap. A total section length of one elongate-stator segment and an adjacent gap is a constant value over a plurality of successive elongate-stator segments, wherein a runner length measured in the longitudinal direction across all magnets successively disposed on the runner, is an integer multiple of the total section length.