The Edison Effect
December 17, 2025 • EPISODE 291
What if Thomas Edison’s greatest discovery wasn’t the light bulb? In this episode of Science LIVE, Dr. Roger Billings explores the Edison Effect and how Edison’s experiments paved the way for electron tubes and modern electronics. Discover why this overlooked breakthrough mattered then—and why it still shapes technology today.
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 »
It was so fascinating to learn about all the inventions Thomas Edison made.
This was very interesting to watch and learn. Keep on.
Love this episode! So interesting!
I love learning about this!
that was the coolest thing ever thank you science live.
I love learning about this kind of stuff!
I just learned more facts about Thomas Edison and his inventions
I have used wd 40 before
My first time learning about Thomas Edison and his inventions! So cool!
Honestly I love Thomas Edison so much. He is my fav inventor
It was cool learning about all the things Thomas Edison invented.
I didn’t know Edison did so much for are future.
I loved hearing about the interspace telescopes
I’ve never truly thought about all the things Thomas Edison has achieved. It’s very inspiring!
It’s so interesting to hear more specifics about innventors. I find Edison’s innventions to be similar to the mangitude of which Shakespeare created words. I wonder how much harder or easier it is to create new grand things now versus in the past?
How many phones have been made and how can we keep making them better without keeping us on them 24/7.
Thomas Edison and his inventions are really crazy im so interested.
what is Edison’s most useful inventions?
Space is so interesting
I love science it’s always so interesting
I knew Thomas Edison made various inventions but i guess you learn something new everyday.
learning all this is so fun!!
I can’t believe that NASA is getting a new telescope!
Love learning about electronics.
Thomas Edison was really cool
How many years did it take you to get ti where you are today Dr.Billings?
Tobias’s lesson was really interesting!!
These are really long for younger learners or ones with ADHD. It would be nice if they were condensed. We would watch more of them.
I never knew that the Edison Effect was so important
Interesting history of the iPhone!
I always knew about Edison’s contribution to the world but I didn’t know he also paved the way for modern electronics.
I love science live!!
Area 51 is the best
Wow, very interesting. Love Science.
Thanks Dr Billings!
The talk about old and new electronic devices was awesome, great talk!
Thank goodness Edison patented that thing
Hey from roanoke Virginia
i never knew thomas Edison invented all of these cool things! i love this episode!
“How do they make colored lightbulbs?”
I always thought Edison was interesting
I didn’t know that Edison was so cool!
This was great to learn about.
Loved the live! Keep it up!
This science live was so interesting!
hello from texas
It’s so interesting to see how discoveries that seemed small at the time ended up having such a big impact!
I LOVE ACELLUS
Where do all of the telescope pictures go to?
I love it! it’s like the vacuum tube diode but cooler! I love science live.
It’s amazing at the amount of things have changed over the years! Look how much has been improved and made better over the years.
The new inventions for NASA always shock me! It’s so cool what technology, engineering, and science can do!
Thomas Edison has lots of creations
This was so interesting to learn about. Thank you.
How many people did Thomas Edison mentor?
Improving on inventions that were already made is just as important on making the acual invention
It’s kind of insane how much dedication you need for this. However, the payoff is incredible. Thanks for showing that Edison did a lot more than just a lightbulb.
I hope scientists can use AI to find better ways to treat people.
Could using AI to help treat people during flu season be the future of medicine, and how might it change the way doctors take care of patients?
I am so happy Steve Jobs created Apple. I love my Apple products! Thank you for talking about this. I can do more research.
is r51 ok!!!🧨
Super interesting episode about Thomas Edison!
Hello from Olathe, KS!
My mom was talking about old cell phones when she saw the video. She said she was born before we even had cell phones. Lol.
Interesting how much Thomas Edison had an impact on modern technology!
I didn’t know he had other inventions than the light bulb. That’s really cool!
I loved the history on the smartphone invention. And see how they also struggled, when we normally only see the end product.
I love learning abt the Edison effect.
Love this!!! Super interesting!!!
Thomas Edison is mainly known for the light bulb, but its surprising that no one really accounts for his other inventions like for example, the electric pen
I love science live
I didn’t know Thomas Edison made so much
My favorite part of science live is breakthrough moments in science with Tobias.
I learned so much in the live this week!
I learned about different lightbulbs in science!!
Thomas Edison invented cool stuff
So glad people like Thomas Edison came into this world a brought a big change to every ones daily life
I think it’s so cool the way science works.
how many volts was the first electric lightbulb
Learning is fun.
I love learning about the Thomas Edison effect its so interesting
What made you wanna be a scientist Dr. Billings?
thanks for the science live!
Here from Tennessee
I like learning about Thomas Edison
Thank you for the live this week!
do you like being a scientist
I really liked learning about Thomas Edison and his inventions.
These are always so interesting!
So cool how AI is going to be able to help with viruses and make people healthy.
This was so cool to learn!
I love science! Thanks for the video
i did not think AI can detect viruses
Hello from Texas
Hello from Puerto Rico
I always learn something new each episode!
What do you think Thomas Eddison would think of allthe technology in the world today?
Hi, I’m a Big Fan of your work hope you see this!
These videos are the best!!!
I thought the part where he figured out why the light bulb had a stain was very cool.
This video gave me a spark to want to learn more about science!
Wow. It would be cool to invent something as useful as a light bulb
I got a telescope for Christmas. Just not as big as NASA. Ha ha.
Nasa is getting a new telascope
what made u wanna be a scientist
Hi, From Nevada
This is probably my favorite video so far. I love learning about historical figures, artists, inventors, anybody with a significant place in history! super neat video once again. 🙂
How many electronics do you allow in your house?
I only thought of the light bulb when I heard of Thomas Edison. This was cool!
Science is so interesting to learn
Science is my favorite subject. Thank you for these videos.
what if we did two positive plates together what woud happen
very interesting because i used to live in west orange nj and we learned alot about electricity from his factory.
learning all this stuff is awesome!
i love science so much!
I liked learning about Samuel Morse’s and his inventions. The morse code was very interesting
This is my fav to rewatch!
It was nice learning about The man Edison. What an amazing dude!
I love learning about all this thank you for the videos every week
so many things are different now! it was nice to learn about Thomas Edison
I look forward to seeing the new proteges
I didnt know thomas edison made the vacuum tube.
Its interesting to hear about Thomas Edison and his Inventions
Thank you so much im learning alot DR. BILLINGS
DR.B. Why do you like science?
Learning about all of this is so fun and exciting .
This episode was really interesting!!!
Learning lots of Stuff every science live I cant wait till next one!
This live brought some new interesting insights to me about the lightbulb.
Hello watching from Kentucky
Thomas Edison inventions are cool
hi im from south-africa
I really like science!
Thomas Edison made such great inventions
Honors classes seem like they will be fun. Great Video.
Love watching science live!
Do you really think time travel is possible? Or communication with the past/future?
it was fun learning about the space telescope.
best episode ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
Thomas Edison created a lot more than i thought he did!
I can’t believe all the stuff Edison did!
I like that I can learn about the effect of the experienment.
Learning all of this stuff was so fun!
This has truly been one of my favorite episodes so far.
So that’s how an old light bulb works!
Great experience of the tubes and modern electrons.
It was cool when you were talking about how phones used to be!
these just keep getting better
What made Dr.Billings wanna be a scientist?
Makes me want to make my own products to sell
It’s so cool that he made all of this stuff! I wonder what made him so motivated?
I like they included area 51
This was so cool!
Thomas Edison is so cool
This episode highlights an often-overlooked side of Edison’s genius. The Edison Effect may not be as famous as the light bulb, but it clearly played a huge role in shaping modern electronics, really interesting and insightful!
Dr. Billings, what made you want to be a scientist?
Good lord! R-51 always finds a way to do something wrong!
I was thinking the same thing
i love learning new stuff, especially on the science lives
Learning all of this stuff was so fun!
I enjoyed learning about the Edison effect.
Love the new prodige’s
I didn’t know of all the things that Thomas Edison founded
I didn’t know Thomas Edison invented all of these things, nice episode!
This was an interesting lesson.
So cool!!
This was definitely an interesting lesson.
I don’t know what we would do without science and all these great inventions
Thomas Edison and his inventions are really cool.
One of the best lives!
science is my favorite
I loved learning about the invention of a smart phone and how old phones used to be used.
This makes me realize how many important people have changed the world
Space facts are so interesting to me. I could learn about that all day.
Thanks for the Science Live.
This science live was so interesting! It’s crazy how much things have changed.
Edison is really interesting!
Learning about how phone evolved is so cool! Crazy how if he never thought of it life would be so different
Wow! Loved learning about the electrons and the Edison effect and the vacuum! Great episode !
I love getting to know more about our world!
Loved this Science Live!
I love seeing the evolution of things.
This is a very interesting Science Live. Thank you for all the work you all put into these educational episodes.
How many cameras does the Hubble have?