Why does the rotation of a wheel on a car force the car to move? I was told it was due to the wheel ‘pushing the ground and propelling the car,’ but this seems a little basic.

Question

I know it seems stupid but I can’t grasp the Physics behind it.

Thanks.

In: Physics

Answer 1

When a wheel rolls it’s center moves around. Your car is connected to the center of the wheel by axels, so the center of the wheel’s movement moves along with the center of the wheel. That leaves only two options, the wheel slips in place or the axel and car move. Wheels are pretty hard to slip, because cars are heavy, and tires have a lot of friction (high coefficient of friction).