The principle on which a Permanent Magnet Moving Coil (PMMC) instrument operates is that a torque is exerted on a current-carrying coil placed in the field of a permanent magnet.
PMMC type of instrument can be operated in direct current only. In alternating current, the instrument does not operate because in the positive half the pointer experiences a force in one direction and in the negative half, the pointer experiences the force in the opposite direction. Due to the inertia of the pointer, it remains in its zero position.