The Magic of Soldering
April 09, 2025 • EPISODE 260
How does soldering work? In this episode of Science LIVE, Roger Billings explores the science and precision behind soldering. From tiny connections on circuit boards to sealing plumbing pipes, learn how a little solder can make a big difference. Whether you’re into building electronics or fixing things at home, this episode will give you a whole new appreciation for the art and science of soldering!

About DrB
Dr. Roger Billings is a visionary innovator whose work has touched the lives of millions of students and transformed the landscape of education. Widely known as “DrB” to the countless kids who benefit from his groundbreaking Acellus learning system, Dr. Billings has dedicated his life to advancing education through technology.
As part of DrB’s lifelong commitment to supporting education, Science LIVE was launched as a way to “give back” by mentoring students in conjunction with the Roger Billings Scholarship Program.
Read more about DrB »
About the Roger Billings Scholarship Program »



Did you see the thing that said snakey 51 for sale.
That is so cool how far they came with the robot jumping like a squirrel.
I really liked this video. loved it!
This video taught me about how to solder electric wires and plumbing metal. I thought it was super cool for you to answer students questions about it for their science fair projects. I didn’t know anything about the topic before watching this.
Soldering seems delicate!
Soldering really takes a steady hand or would end up with messy work.
Cool video!
the heat smells really hot 🤣😂😆
i find soldering pretty cool!
Wow soldering is actually pretty cool!
Cool video
My grandad showed me how to solder when I was little. It’s very tedious.
🌝 Awesome
Very interesting
This is so cool.
Is soldering the same as welding?
Interesting lesson.
that was the most awesome thing EVER
I didn’t know anything about soldering, thanks for explaining!
I use my soldering kit on my electronics at home. My mom even has me use it on small projects for her around the house.
Soldering is very interesting.
Wow, what a cool video!
I would like to know what is the melting point
of different types of soldering wires.
It is important to have a steady hand when soldering, I learned to solder when I was younger. It was difficult at first, but practice made it easier. Now I like to weld,
So interesting!
Soldering is so interesting.
love it thank you Dr. Roger Billings
I would like to solder
I’m excited about this episode since I don’t know how to solder!
Soldering is very interesting.
Amazing video!
this got to be some type of skill
hello from georgia. just getting caught up!
Soldering is a very precise task.
Awesome video!
I didn’t even know soldering was a thing, this was so cool to learn about!
Soldering is a great skill to know
I didn’t know the science behind solder being so thin.
Interesting lesson.
I hope that you and your loved ones had a blessed Easter.
Very cool video!
Thank you for making the videos to help me learn different and some new things.
Awesome video I loved this!!
Awesome video thank you so much and I hope you a fantastic Easter and God Bless you all with love from Aaliyah
I learned to solder while making stained glass. We used a copper tape to rimm the glass pieces. Then I used lots of flux and lead solder. The soldering iron had a wider tip and the lead wire was a larger gauge.
Thats so cool. I didnt even know much about soldering
The Heat Smells Hot!😂😂😂
Soldering is so interesting!
I wish I could solder things when I get older
my brother likes soldering
Amazing livestream like always :3
Soldering is pretty interesting!
Yay! so glad you’re back Dr. Billings 🙂
I love using a soldering tool!
I love building things with my 3D printer
this was super informative and well explained! thank you!!
Very interesting.
I had never been interested in soldering before but after learning about this, it makes me want to know more about computers in general.
I am going to be doing some soldering something soon, thank you for going over soldering
Wow!
This was very interesting!
Soldering is so interesting! I would love to learn how to solder one day.
Wow it is so interesting learning about soldering.
Is soldering just welding?
Dear Dr. B thank you very much for all that you do for us.
Thank you for making the videos to help me learn different and some new things too
I loved this video my favorite part was the Area 51 clip thanks for science live! I love it
soldering is amazing, though you need adult super vision.
My dad does a lot of soldering with his gadgets!
Thank you
I really enjoy these videos – they are funny and also very educational!
The beginning of the Ice Box system was really cool to learn about.
Interesting information on Soldering great video.
First time hearing the word “soldering.” Very interesting!
Soldering is so interesting! This is one of the coolest videos yet!
I just learned that solder is a soft metal and melts at a low temperature! I also learned that there are 3 tips and 3 tip-sizes on a soldering iron.
Those additional resources have been helpful to me and Kayden as he maneuvers through his lessons. They have also assisted with creating other techniques .
Fascinating tidbit on the Swiss researchers!
Such great information on soldering. Thank you for this.
If i’m indecisive about a career field what is the best way to narrow down my options ?
Do you believe the craft of soldering will be automated, performed by a robot, making it faster and less errors.
Soldering looks very tedious and difficult. I would like to try welding someday.
Learning about soldering was very interesting and helpful. I was thinking about learning how to be a welder; so, I think welding might be quite similar to soldering. Thank you for the information.
I recognize many of the soldering tools from watching videos of an artist who creats dioramas. Also my dad has a bunch of soldering tools and it stinks when it’s hot!
That solder gun smell was strong! LOL By the way, I was wondering if you’ll ever do a Live Q & A? My brother and I always have a ton of questions, and so does my mom.
My mom says to thank you for showing us how to solder in such great detail. She says we’ll try it at home soon.
these science lives are so fun to watch. <3
I love science live o(〃^▽^〃)o
Wow!!
This weeks science live was really interesting because I got to learn something new, which was soldering and its uses plus after this video I have really come to understand and appreciate soldering.
I liked learning about the wonders of soldering and how it affects our lives
Love the science lives and all that they teach me!
Wow, this is really interesting. I never knew how these kinds of things worked until today!
This is so cool
I learned to do this on old computers
My friend knows how to solder things and is really into computers and parts.
I bet you can make alot of money soldering. cool.
My uncle soldered metals into things instead of tossing them away.
I loved learning about the Magic of Soldering.
I am interested in welding.
Thank you for the video
this is great
THANK YOU FOR PROVIDING THIS INFORMATION TO ALL OF US.
I didn’t realize soldering played such a big part in our everyday liv
👍🏻👍🏻
I’ve always had opinions relating to squirrels, but this jumper allows a better opinion to exist.
this is so cool, i wonder what i can make?
Breadboards are a unique part of engineering!!
Its amazing: the machines we invent out of pure curiosity and sheer will. I for one, wouldn’t have thought of a squirrel robot.
Old refrigerators…
having a fridge that looks like a dresser would be odd lol
The soldering gun smells good. Thank you Mr. Billings for letting us smell it, that was so generous of you. 😄
Great information on Soldering successfully!
The ice man was a cool thing to put in the video
that was amazing and super interesting!
Awesome
Thank you for providing these science lives for me to learn.
Amazing
I think soldering is so school. It is like mini welding which I did for two years. I really liked welding and I found great skill in it. School welding and recreational welding are both fun. i would like to see a welding episode some time that would be cool. My grandpa has a welder and oxygen-acetylene cutting torch that we use from time to time as well.
We didn’t realize soldering played such a big part in our everyday lives.
It was exciting learning about soldering! Thank you.
Interesting video.
I wonder how circuit boards work exactly.
I always ask AI jokes and they are funny sometimes!
Awesome
I was able to understand more about soldering with this science live. I liked were we got to see an up close moment.
Oh my gosh! It’s so interesting to see the many ways soldering is being used, I’ve seen TikTok’s with people using it for making stained glass crafts.
This information is cool.
Nice clean solder joints, the connections look solid and shiny and reliable, very interesting video and nicely pieced together! I am so grateful Acellus has introduced me to science live!
I had never heard of soldering, interesting!
Just checking in. Very interesting.
That’s really cool and interesting
Thank you for the video!
what kind of metals can’t be soldered together? My dad has a soldering iron and I’ve always wanted to know how to use it now i do thanks Dr B!
soldering is so satisfying to watch!
very nice!!
that’s cool
Wow that is amazing I never knew that soldering could do so much
I have soldered something once. Joining two pipes together for a water pipe.
cool!
I didn’t really know anything about soldering but I learned a lot from this video and it was very interesting.
I can not believe they put a huge block of ice.
What’s the difference between welding and soldering?
Welding was an option at my old school, I opted out for a language course, but it’s interesting to learn soldering, as close to welding as it is.
The way heat flows through solder faster than through air is really cool to me.
Amazing
This was really so interesting! I enjoyed this LIVE – the Magic of Soldering! I really enjoy the Science Live videos. I like the vast amount of different things we get to learn.
This was really so interesting! I enjoyed this LIVE – the Magic of Soldering!
Its fascinating just how well squirrels can balance on such small surfaces reliably without being able to wrap a paw completely around it! I hope we’re able to make an artificial squirrel someday, it’d be cool to see!
I love how I got interested in these videos!
I never knew much about soldering but this video helped me understand it.
We’ve used soldering in robotics
My dad just taught me how to solder!
This video is so cool im and 8th grade I love this school it has helped me so mutch and if anyone sees this I hope you have a great day yall stay awesome and never let anyone be negative to you have a great summer and my birthday is this summer. 👋🏻
How did the squirrel know where to jump?
What is soldering?
very cool
The invention of the fridge was ingenious, I could have never known how it worked
This episode was really fun and interesting to watch. I enjoyed watching the jumping robot and how they observed a squirrel to make their robot better. It was also very interesting to see and learn how to solder. I had never seen anyone do that before and it was very neat to watch you do it close up.
Love this live couldent remember if commented but I really am interested in the topic
How did they measure the squirrel jumping?
Awesome!
i really liked this epsiode cause i was confuse on what soldering is but now i know
Very nice
It is very interesting that you can solder things. Before the science live I didn’t know that you can solder electron components. I learned two ways to solder and that the preparation is very important.
Sauntering is neat and in order to melt copper is 600 degrees
please keep the science fair
I love how much information is in each of these videos
I learned how to solder in middle school and since then it has interested me. That means this episode is perfect!
I find soldering very cool
I found this video very interesting. I do not have any questions about it.
That was so cool.
It was interesting about the first ice boxes and refrigerators.
this is so 😎 cool
I like how they use the fire and all the cool things they did with using fire
What temperature does it take to melt the solder?
this was very cool!
The process of soldering is really fascinating. I never knew its role in the electronics industry till today! Especially the big impact it has.
Soldering is very interesting!