Radio Waves
November 12, 2025 • EPISODE 286
How do invisible waves travel across the world and beyond? In this episode of Science LIVE, Dr. Roger Billings dives into the fascinating science of radio waves—how they’re created, how they move through space, and how they make long-distance communication possible. From the basics of frequency and transmission to early breakthroughs like Morse code and modern applications such as HAM radio and space communication, join us as we explore the hidden currents that keep us connected.
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 »
Acellus is awesome!
I would love to have an Omega Speedmaster watch!
That was so interesting about the FM/AM radio wave station. Thank you for explaining how it works.
Yes, on the pilot class. Sounds exciting.
R 51 u is always a highlight of science live! Also I’m curious if we could get more art/drawing classes or even a film class? Because I’m more of an artsy person lol!
I would take the class to become a Ham radio operator!
I think a morse code class would be awesome!
It was fun learning about radio waves and how they help us to communicate! Thank you for sharing.
Acellus is awesome!!
My mom plays the radio when we are in the car. It’s cool to hear music that comes through radio waves.
I LOVE NASA!
I hope that I learn more about Radio Waves during the school year they are very fun to learn about.
Radio waves are pretty cool!
Hearing something I learned about in my science class was super cool! Loved the Morse code section.
I think an aircraft pilot class is an amazing idea.
It is crazy how strong radio waves are but we cannot see or feel them.
There’s always something new and really entertaining with these. It’s snowing in Michigan by the way.
Can you talk about HF frequencies and why they are affected differently than radio waves due to ionospheric reflection.?
I would love both classes, and I am fascinated that lasers can cool things. That is remarkable!
How do radio waves travel through space, and why is that important for communication?
R51 is such a funny character!
That thing about how coral makes a different color then what hits it is actually impressive, nature is so strange sometimes. Like you wouldn’t expect something as unassuming as coral to do something like that.
The segment of the video about how astronauts wore wristwatches in space was really interesting! I always enjoy when they teach us about outer space.
I think it is so crazy that radio waves are able to have so many different frequencies constantly being emitted and yet we can still tell which device is communicating with which.
I never noticed the watch when learning about the Apollo missions. That is really interesting.
Is the Omega watch still sold today?
Radio Waves are so interesting!
i love this show!
Good show, Radio waves are much more exciting than I thought.
This might be one of my favorite episodes
How hard is it to be a radio announcer?
Wow! I thoroughly enjoyed this lesson, I learned a lot about the importance of radio waves that I didn’t know before!
r51 is funny
I love science live.
I love Acellus! what an amazing school.
I had no idea the Snoopy Award was a thing, but I’m glad he’s such a well-loved character.
I think the pilot course would be a really good course idea.
I never thought about time and NASA. It is pretty neat how they tested the watches for travel.
Love it !!
How are morse code messages sent? Is it sound, or dots and dashes written on paper? I am really fasinated by Morse Code.
I enjoyed learning about the role of time in the moon landing!
I would love there to be a pilot class, that would be so cool!
This was really helpful. Thank you.
Radio Waves are neat.
It would be really cool to have a Morse code class!
Area 51 was hilarious!!
I love Acellus
My great grandfather worked for NASA. He was an engineer.
What is the longest radio wave range ever recorded?
Acellus is amazing!
thank you guys for doing all of this!!!!!!
The idea of studying a little bit daily instead of cramming everything at once sounds really beneficial and way less stressful.
Being an astronaut back then looks a bit hard.
This was an amazing science lesson!
i want the pilot class
I think a morse code class would be interesting.
I want the Radio Class.
How old is Acellus?
Watching from Maryland! I loved learning about Radio Waves, and I have more info on the Radio! I am a big fan of the 1920’s, which is when the radio came out and became a turning point in history.
I didn’t know laser could cool down things.
is our 3d printer a laser?
Would love a radio or M-Code class!
This was amazing!! I can’t wait for the one next week!!
Radio waves are really interesting
The radio stuff was really cool
I know radio waves are invisible but are there chemicals or a type of light that would make the waves visible?
NASA is so cool!
When they communicated with mars it made me laugh
Pilot class?!?! How cool!
Hello from MAINE, I love Science Live. It is always a good way to learn something new and have fun.
I love lasers I didn’t know they were this cool 😄
Loved the appearence of R-51 at the end of the video!
I find it so interesting and so cool that humans were able to make/understand radio waves!
Hey! I absolutely LOVE snoopy and charlie brown, so i REALLY enjoyed what you had to say Tobias!!!
Thank you for the science lives!!!
What part of the electromagnetic spectrum do radio waves belong to, and what are they commonly used for?
we saw the Northern Lights last week in Colorado!
I learn so much more with homeschooling like acellus than public school! Like height affects radio towers? Lasers can cool computer chips?!
I want to go to Nasa!
Thank you for telling us about morse code.
It is so cool that the Omega watch was the first watch to make to the moon.
I hope everyone has a great week!
R51 is my favorite
How expensive are spaces suits?
Yay Acellus!
Yes, yes, yes, to a ham radio class! Soooooo cool! I like the r51 did it t-shirt the best and who knew lasers can cool too. Mind blown!
I had no idea that consistently studying daily could improve both intelligence and memory to such a drastic degree. I hope to improve my routine to something similar in the near future!
A morse code class sounds interesting.
Why haven’t we gone back to the moon?
i would like to learn more about Morse code. it seems very intereting.
The live is incredible. Very descriptive With R51 and ofc the cast humor boosting all of this. Till next live!!
I was wondering, is there any cool tech classes that Acellus offers for high schoolers.
Loved this lesson! Acellus is amazing!!
I wish Dr Tobias was a teacher. He is so funny.
I like the Omega Watch I think it’s cool
Radio Waves are so cool!
LOVE IT SOOOOOO MUCH
I liked when Dr John talked about coral.
I loved the Spongebob time card “A few moments later”.
What does LASER stand for?
I find the story of the Omega Watch going to space quite interesting, along with the Snoopy Award.
I like when Dr. Tobius talked about watches.
I ready enjoyed the talk about the watches being tested for NASA. I like watches and the snoopy watch would be a great addition to my watch collection!
i never knew about the Snoopy Award!
Radio waves are so interesting to learn about!
I think it was interesting how the Omega watch helped the astronauts return to earth. The Snoopy Award is an amazing accomplishment!
does nasa still give out the snoopy award?
Radio waves are invisible waves that sneak through the air to bring us music, shows, and chats
Morse code is interesting!
I learned about Radio Waves
That’s kind of funny that the video was talking about planes because my brother is getting his private pilots license after this summer. It was also cool how Dr. B said that he had a radio tower when he was a teen, because my Memaw and my dad just sold 2 radio towers. LOL 🙂
I’ve started doing scheduled study sessions and it really helped me learn faster and easier.
Really like the omega watch lecture.
Radio waves are very fascinating, I enjoyed this episode!
I am curious about radio waves. how are radio waves different from other types of electromagnetic waves?
I would love to have a radio class
THE SNOOPY AWARD STORY WAS AWESOME!
How exactly are radio waves generated — what physical processes create them?
What determines the frequency of a radio wave, and how does that affect its use in communication?
How did early inventors use radio waves (like with Morse code), and how is that different from how we use them today?
What are some of the biggest challenges or limitations when sending radio waves over very long distances (like to satellites or space)?
I liked learning about how the cooling laser works. I love Acellus!
This is the best version of school its fun and cool
#science live rules!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for a great Science Live!
Acellus is the best
A pilot class would be awesome! I would love it! Overall great lesson.
I have the same climbing lizard that R51 had at the end of the video!
I like the creature from Mars.
I like 51’s radio call to Pajet’s planet.
it was very cool learning about radio waves i always wonder how they worked
Always a blast to watch this!
I really like learning something new every week on science live!
My favorite part was when Roger Billings explained morse code in a far simpler way that I do around -37:10.
I thought it was cool that diamonds are going to be used as materials for the next generation of semiconductors
Can’t wait to try those study techniques!!
How much did the ham radio cost in today’s money?
Are the watches used for the astronauts still available to buy.
It was so funny when Area 51 communicated with Mars
That is so cool NASA gave the snoopy award.!!!!!!!! I need to watch the peanuts after school!!
Rewatching this because it’s so amazing!
I’d love to learn morse code!
how were scientists able to discover they were able to use lasers to cool down computer chips
All those letters in Morse code are cool! Does Morse code also do numbers?
I think that people who go to the moon are brave.
I LOVE SCIENCE LIVE 🩷🩷🩷
Tech Talk was really cool, between the florescence of the ocean animals and the lasers. Awesome.
science is so fascinating
Lasers are neat.
Whats the estimated age of earth?
It is cool to know that the Omega watch company made a watch that could be worn by astronauts!
I actually know how to read Morse code because one of my favorite games requires you to figure out Morse code!
I want to work for Nasa
never thought that lasers could cool something down!
I think the way that morse code works is very cool.
I like the laser part
I love learning about radio waves, thank you
I would like to do ham radio. I think it would be fun. thank you very much.
Dr Billings is a genius!
Learning about radio waves was amazing !
What exactly is a semi conductor? And how would diamonds help? Wouldn’t that make theme expensive?
Acellus is cool.
I like the t-shirt designs that were chosen.
i laughed out loud on that video where area 51 communicated with Mars. It was very funny! I learned that lasers can cool items like computer chips!
The call when area 51 with mars was so funny, especially when mars said that they were waiting for Elon Musk to save them. SCIENCE LIVE IS SO FUNNY!
Acellus is awesome!!
I found this very interesting. I would love to learn more, and would love a radio class.
I really liked this video! I think that a pilot course would be cool!
I think it’s awesome that they still give the Snoopy award out!
It’s so interesting how communication has evolved due to the research of how different radio frequencies travel through space!
Other than communicating what can the radio waves be used for?
Radio waves are so fast!
it’s really instresting and a really helpful tip about how to study and the way of retaining informations. It’s really awsome to learn about radio waves.
Wow!
R51 is so funny.
This was a cool one!
I literally couldn’t wait for this episode! I love learning about different types of things such as radio waves and x-ray waves and stuff like that. Thank you for putting this here.
My favorite part technology spotlight