Stupid question about turbos

I'm just wondering if it's (a) possible and (b) a good idea to somehow electrically spool a turbo to reduce lag? Seems like it wouldn't require much electric power, though I'm not sure how exactly you could hook up some electric apparatus to do the spooling...Anyway, seeing as something like this hasn't been done (right?), I take it that this is not very possible or practicable, making me wonder why that is. Am I not understanding how turbos work (please explain)? Completely theoretically, this seems cool.Edit: Found this, which talks about some of the downsides, one of which is the system requiring a lot more electricity than I'd assumed.And here's the Wikipedia entry on hybrid turbos. I'm still not sure if those fit what I described. via /r/cars http://ift.tt/2rRmaGK