Why can' they?

Question

Why can't they make the tires on cars like turbines? That can then power the engine?

Answer 1

A turbine is incredibly complex, delicate, and requires all sorts of pipes, wires, and tubes leading into it and out of it.  Tires do not lend themselves to have such connections.

However they do lend themselves to have electric motors powering each wheel.  Some electric vehicles even do it this way: one motor per wheel instead of one gigantic motor powering all of them.

Answer 2

2nd law of thermodynamics?

Answer 3

First off why power the engine, that is what is the engine does provide power.  A waterwheel provides rotational motion by using water as its power source.  Same as wind power.  Where would the power source for the tires come from?  If you are implying motion from the car, then how did the car get moving in the first place.  Secondly regenerative braking from the new hybrid cars takes the motion from the deceleration as drives the electric motor, just like a generator, to get a small recharge on the batteries.

Answer 4

Like Perpetual Motion?

Answer 5

b/c thats a perpetual motion machine, it requires 100% efficiency to operate, which is not possible to attain in the real world, at this time