The Relay
December 10, 2025Ā ā¢Ā EPISODE 290
How does a simple relay help us understand electricity and circuits? In this episode of Science LIVE, Roger Billings breaks down the science behind the relayāthe clever electromagnetic switch that makes it possible to control circuits with precision. Learn how relays work, why theyāre essential in everyday electronics, and how this simple idea became a building block for modern technology. A clear, hands-on look at one of engineeringās most important tools.
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 āDrBā 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 DrBās lifelong commitment to supporting education, Science LIVE was launched as a way to āgive backā by mentoring students in conjunction with the Roger Billings Scholarship Program.
Read more about DrB Ā»Ā
About the Roger Billings Scholarship Program Ā»
These live lectures are genuinely so interesting thank you!
Tajha here from Maryland
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Hi everyone!
I enjoyed the study tips
DNA is such an amazing thing
I love science live!!
DNA for storage is insaneee tbh
Thats cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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hello from north carolina
I think it is so amazing that they can take DNA and make it power and it will actually stay for many years
Omg thatās insane
Hello from Mexico
DNA strands can become powder?! That’s really cool
Hi from tennessee
I’ve heard about about stuff like the storage Dr. John talked about. DNA storage sounds really cool!
hey cant wait for the live, I love these lives hehe good to see you guys cant wait to learn today.
I love Science Live! Thank you!
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Hello! Kinzie here from NE.
is it possible for scientists to rewrite dna?
How do they get all of that into one thing
Learning about DNA is so interesting!
hi from tennense
Storing Data on DNA is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen!!! I didn’t know that was even possible theoretically, let alone in reality!
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My fav part of Wednesday!
Using DNA to store data is actually genius.
Hello from Tx
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Hello Iām from Florida.
How does the DNA “hold onto” the data put on it?
Hello from New Jersey
Never thought DNA would be useful for anything technological, but thatās super cool! Couldnāt imagine having that much free space on my device.
DNA for storage is absolutely crazy, I can’t wait for that
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I’m going to graduate this May, and I’m coming to Kansas
What machine would be able to convert the binary to DNA and the DNA back to binary?
How do you use DNA for storage
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hi Iām from Mississippi.
Where can I read more about the DNA storage concept?
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Hi from Florida! I love science!
Hello, from Illinois! Could data by lost if it wasn’t hydrated correctly? How did they figure out to store data on powder? What kind of powder is it?
Hello from Hawaii
Florida is very cold today! STAY WARM EVERYONE!
We could use this to avoid another Library of Alexandria!
hello from illionis
greetings from ohio
Storage on DNA? Sounds like science fiction!
Hello From Maryland! I am excited for today’s episode.
I wonder if the DNA will become more used than the cloud.
This is so interesting. I never wouldāve imagined someone would think using DNA would be able to hold more storage.
DNA storage, pretty cool.
Hello from Oklahoma.
the DNA storage idea would be really good for replicating cells of certain body parts and or preserving DNA for to future to discover!
Hello from North Caroline! How can we use DNA for storage? Really interesting but also mind blowing!
Hello again from Michigan! Always ready for science live each week!
Hi from Indiana. I can tell that Dr. Roger Billings loves hydrogen I’m happy for Science Live and I hope it keeps on growing.
I never thought we’d use dehydrated DNA for more storage. so cool to hear interesting things like this in science lives!
I love when Dr. Johns teachs us technology
Hello from Florida
i need that much storage for all my photos
Being able to use your DNA for storage is crazy can we start doing that.
Hi from Florida
so how we use DNA for storage just really curious about that seems interesting.
I did not know that fungi eat CDs
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Cool!
A lot to learn on science Live!
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Hi from Florida! DNA is really cool and super interesting
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I can wait for Dr. Roger Bilings
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Great job Tobias that was a great speech from l Eryn Lane.
Out of curiosity, what would happen if you were to swallow the DNA capsule? How would it look broken up?
haiiii from georgia
I love learning about DNA itās so cool and intriguing!
Hello from North Carolina!!
Hello from texas
Its crazy that in someones DNA there i literally 3.2 gigabites of storage . And that is how electronics has storage.
I’ve learned a lot more of DNA
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Hello from Massachusetts!
how would you get the storage out of it.
hello from tennessee
how does the DNA hook up to the computer?
Hello, from Kentucky!
hello from denmark
Hello again from Colorado love watching theses lives with you guys and love learning about all the cool things that you guys teach
Wouldn’t this mean that different forms of DNA have different amounts of data it would be able to store? If that’s the case, what do you think the best version of DNA would be the best? Is more complicated DNA better, or less complicated DNA strands that allow for more data to be stuffed into it?
Data eating fungus?!?
Itās is interesting that engineers are using D.N.A to save memory on computers and things that have to use memory in technology. Thanks for sharing!
Hey everyone!
How would you connect DNA to a computer?
Why is DNA in a double helix shape?
Is the DNA synthetic?
How did we discover that DNA functions like this? How do we know that some base pairs work with each other and that others do not?
this is going to be really cool. I wonder how we use dna for storage
ooh thatās neat
doyle from texas
How would we use that stored DNA?
Would scientist be able to predict medical illnesses when splitting DNA?
10 years is a lot to store data!
DNA is interesting
super excited these lives are the highlight of my week
It’s crazy that DNA can give scientist ideas on how to save more data
How did they figure out how many gigabytes are in one of our cells?
how is it that we know how it looks and what specific things are there if its so small?
Hello from Connecticut
That is interesting.
storing files in DNA sounds cool
I thought of using DNA to store data before, we could have cells with data stored in them and can take them out of cold storage whenever we need.
R51 invented everything, I repeat EVERYTHING!
Hi from Texas! DNA seems like such an interesting thing to learn about even more!
Hi from North Carolina
To advance the storage problem would it be better to compact it more or make better storage drives and would people be able to decide if they want quality or for it to take as least space possible sacrificing quality?
Genetics are so interesting, especially the way the genetics make up features.
Your DNA is incredibly long; if unraveled from one cell, it’s about 6 feet, but all the DNA is your body stretched out would reach the Sun and back over 600 times.
How long can one strand of dna be?
When did scientists first start to learn more about DNA?
How many cells is in a human body?
DNA is interesting!!
DNA is such an interesting concept with so much to learn!
Hello I am Zoey and Iām with my sister Emelia from Ohio and we love to watch science live.šš
Iām very interested in the new conspiracy theory class, it sounds very interesting!
This is my favorite part of the week. I love learning new science facts from Dr. John.
Never knew you could use DNA for storage.
Hello from Florida! hope everyone has had a great week so far.
I love DNA! It pretty much made me the way I look now! Love from NC!
I love acellus live and it is an amazing opportunity to learn on the schollarships
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Can’t wait to meet you guys at graduation!!!!
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How does DNA work? How did we figure out all this amazing science information? Science is so cool and engaging.
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Hello from Maryland
Wow never thought of DNA like that
where do you guys film science live?
I like it when Dr. John talks about new technology their working on. š
So how would we use DNA for storage? Just really curious about that that seems interesting.
I never really understood DNA until now!
When did WD-40 leave the US?
I like Dr. Johns DNA test for more data to store.
DNA from mammals over a thousand years ago? WOW!
hello from TEXAS
Do the majority of Acellus students live in Kansas City?
Could scientist edit DNA so we could breathe underwater?
Hello!
whats good yall from da big boot aka louisiana
The Acellus World highlights looked really cool! Iām happy for all who went š
hi this is kyle from kentuky
I have had some… “Complications”, but I’m here!
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That’s a lot of data in one cell!!!
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ready to lernnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!!
Hello, this is Eric. I’m excited to be here! I hope they do an episode about black holes one day.
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Could we get a tour of the inside of the Science Live center so we could see the scale of the building? Hello from VA!
I am here from NC.
ready for another awesome science live!
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Congratulations Class of 2025! I can’t wait to be an Acellus graduate!
Watching From Charlotte
Acellus graduation sounds amazing.
How were scientist able to detect helium coming from a planet?
I enjoy listening to the cool facts.
Looking forward.
I always love watching these lives.
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I love SCIENCE LIVE