The Vacuum Tube Diode
January 7, 2026 • EPISODE 292
What invention helped spark the age of electronics? In this episode of Science LIVE, Dr. Roger Billings and the Protégés break down the vacuum tube diode—one of the earliest electronic components that made controlling the flow of electrons possible. Learn how this simple device works, why it was so important in early radios and computers, and how it laid the groundwork for modern electronic technology. Join us for a clear, engaging look at a key milestone in the history of electronics.
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 »
I didn’t know plants could breathe, that’s so cool to know. I hope the drone thing works that looks so cool.
Caleb and David, to be honest, they both are amazing!
my favorite part was with doctor tobias
This is the best science live so far!
Great show . I always enjoy Science Live.
Both Caleb and David were great at explaining the concepts in a way that made you more interested to hear what they were saying. Great job and love Science Live!!
I like that part about the tiny robots🤖
Absolutely pumped about the new science live episodes of 2026
The microscopic robot is so tiny you would think it the smallest sliver ever! Question, what is the exact length of the robot? Also, the tornado drone is a wonderful invention.
That had to be such a cool moment the first Morse code 40 miles away
I think it’s cool that plants can breathe.
the tornado drone is such a great idea ! hope it works !
That’s super tiny!! You would not even know it was there
I love watching Science live!
science live is so cool!!
the fact that people were able to make a robot that ridiculously tiny is INSANE!
These videos are why I love science
An atom was suspended mid air for human observation using two electromagnetic fields. interesting.
I would love to see a video of plants breathing.
That was funny how you lifted your left foot so you could be on the right foot to start the next year.
I love listening to Dr. Tobias because I love learning about history.
Start the new year on the right foot. I voted for David.
It’s interesting how a radio wave is a push and pull not a straight up and down wave.
I always love the Area 51 segments! Also, I really liked the voting feature here! Even if i missed out on it lol
That is so cool that you learned from someone who was taught by Thomas Edison.
Caleb and David work really well together!
I liked the microscopic robot it was so neat
Caleb and David are the Science Live Dream Team! I really liked how they explained the tough concepts. They made it fun and engaging. Keep them both!
David got my vote love the episode !
I like how David and Caleb had great team work with their project.
love watching science live
Caleb and David are both awesome! They were wonderful in the video. They really had a great way of explaining difficult concepts, they kept my attention, and I really enjoyed learning from them! Keep them both, and I hope we see more of them!
I hope the tornado drone ends up working, it would be super cool to see!
I didn’t know plants can breathe! That’s fascinating!
I know! I had no idea that plants 🪴 can breathe
Hard decision but I want to vote for Caleb
100,000,000,000,000% Voting for both of the Protégés!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow that was awesome! I’m giving my vote to both they deserve it.
ithink anastaia was very smart and im really proud of her and i think the tornado drone was a cool concept
Vote both David and Caleb I love them both.
I like both of the Protégés. 😊
I think both. They work well together.
The drone thing looks so neat!
Samuel Morse was genius! I love to draw art myself.
Morse code has such an amazing story behind it.
I loved how David and Caleb were funny in the video of them.
I really enjoyed learning about the world’s smallest robot!
That was a GOOD episode!
I had no clue that morse code was named after someone. Thank you Dr. Tobias for the cool science breakthroughs every week.
the tornado drone is a cool conecpt
I was amazed of how such a tiny robot could be built with all the necessary components to function. I also enjoyed David and Caleb’s presentation. They both compliment each other. With their precise explanation along with a sense of humor, made it easier to understand and more enjoyable. I truly hope we see them again.
i love this show
This taught me a lot today. LOOOVVEEE SCIENCE LIVE
Love it! And both get my vote.
So much fun to watch! both have my vote!
Hi from Texas, loved this weeks live!
David and Caleb both get my vote! Amazing live! lol
Thank you Roger Billings! Your videos are always amazing!
I cant wait till I can do the honor classes they sound challenging and fun.
I think I’m voting for Caleb!
Good start to the new year! #r51
I vote David, but both were so good with team work!
Cool tornado drone!
r51 is hilarious
Thank you for posting very interesting videos each week!
Glad to watch science live this week, Happy new year
David!
I liked Caleb’s explanation and humor, but my favorite part was when R 51 came into the room. This episode was fun to watch.
It’s cool learning about the telegraph. I vote Celeb.
The tornado drone sounded super cool.
I don’t think I can choose between Caleb and David! I vote for both!
David and Caleb both did great!! I vote for both!
I can’t decide between David and Caleb, I will pick both because they are really smart.
I loved the r51 short clip! To add on to that, Caleb for sure has my vote ! I liked the part where it was clipping miss Pajet laughing saying caleb as well it was a great addition to this weeks science live!
This Science Live was so good! Both Caleb and David get my vote
How awesome would it have been to be mentored by Thomas Edison. How important do you think mentorship is for the advancement of not just science but humankind as a whole ?
That tornado drone is really cool!
david has my vote. really cool video
loved the live this week! both have my vote!!!
Your guys’ technology is always fascinating me and especially Dr billings!
I enjoyed this Science Live episode very much
Dr. Billings is brilliant!
I didn’t know Samuel Morse was a painter and an inventor. His drawing of the Morse code machine was very detailed.
i love r51
The tornado drone is a cool concept and I hope they can get it done, and make it work. Also the microscopic robot it neat!
David and Caleb both get my vote! The live was so awesome this week!!!
So much fun to watch. Both have my vote
I didn’t know plants can breathe!👌😃
I LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Science live
David for sure!!
I vote for Davis and Caleb good team work. Great invention .
I vote for Caleb if I must pick one, but I loved them both!!
Great start to the new year!!
It was a little bit of a hard decision, but I voted for Caleb.
Comment r51 is awesome!!
I vote for David but both of them have very good teamwork.
Great science live this week! I really enjoyed Dr. John’s talk on robotics. Specifically, the worlds smallest robot. I genuinely cannot fathom how MINISCULE that robot is. The concept of engineering technology that’s smaller than a grain of salt is fascinating, especially considering all of it’s uses and abilities.
“is it infectious?”
*Me smiling to my monitor*
yes , yes it is.
Honestly I chose both, both contributes differently and they are a good team already.
WOW!!!!!! 😀
I like Caleb, him and I both play guitar, I wanna be in his band😔. I’m voting Caleb.
David!
I really liked the guitar with Caleb
I love r51!!!
I thought David and Caleb did a really nice job with their explanation, it was a good mixture of humour and information
Science live is awesome! It’s fun and educational
I vote for both. They are both really good.
Gonna vote for David and Caleb, very smart and hard workers!
I love learning with Acellus!
Not only are both smart, but they’re both HILLARIOUS.
100% voting for David
I love science live it is the highlight of my week
Happy 2026!
I loved listening to how the Morse Code was invented! It was really interesting. Welcome to David and Caleb!
Caleb and David make such a charming duo! The have a way of being informative, yet they also keep it fun! Well done!
I liked Dr. Joseph’s New Years joke, and my question is could we possibly figure out a way to travel to another parrallel universe?
I LOVE SCIENCE LIVEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Glad to watch science live this week! Happy new year!
I think that it is so crazy and interesting how small robots can really be.
I hope both guys are a part of Science Live. They are a great team.
I absolutely cannot choose between the two, my vote goes to both Caleb and David.
I vote for David! Goodluck dude! 😀
I’m voting David and Caleb, I love there teamwork.
I can`t pick! They both are great candidates, and they can explain things easily together. I can relate to how Caleb loves to play his musical instrument, I play the piano myself, but I also appreciate how David talked about his love of the outdoors. This was a great start to the year!
I vote for Caleb, they were both very good though!
I voted for David, however I think that both David and Caleb did an amazing job. Their video together was funny and hopefully they’ll be back on for more. Thank you all and have a blessed day 🙂
The microscopic robot is really awesome!
What a good way to kick off a new year of Science Live! The teamwork between Caleb and David is amazing!
I enjoyed David and Caleb, they are funny!
I vote for DAVID all day long
It was cool. i vote for both. i like caleb best. I play guitar. I like playing with my band. I like writing and reading.
I vote for David and Caleb!
I vote for David!
I vote Caleb because of the fact that he does video editing. I am very interested in that kind of stuff and would like to go to college for it. I was wondering if you haven’t already, if you could make a video editing course?
Hope everyone is having a good 2026 so far.
I love the sound of AP classes. I plan to graduate two years early.
Both David and Caleb are good prodigies
Late, but Happy New Year to Science Live! I have always have an interest in video editing as well as photography and film, so Caleb as my vote!
science live is going to rock this year!
I vote David!!!! I got a eight point last year!!! He is awesome!!!
I love learning new things from Mr Billings!
I vote for both! I love watching science live!
R 51 is so funny
Dr. Joseph always has funny jokes!
I vote for both David and Caleb! Excellent Science Live this week!
I enjoyed Dr. Tobias’ segment on Morse code.
I vote for both! Can’t wait for next week!
Awesome science live! Personally I’m rooting for Dr. Billings’ son LOL.
Happy New Year! also I think Caleb is the favorite.
I LOVE Science Live!
This science live was awesome! <3
David and Caleb did a great job explaining the Edison effect and made it fun to watch, Great Job!!!
I vote for David and Caleb. They are both great!
I voted for Dave cause I like to go to hunting too, and I like to be outdoors. Vote for Dave.
I’d vote for Caleb!
I love idea Anastasia had for storm radar prediction. I hope the hydrogen drone will save more lives.
I enjoy these lives so much!
I liked hearing about Anatasia an Acellus graduate that built a concept to help with tornados with hydrogen drone
I loved learning about the smallest robot.
We love the plants in our house!
I think David and Caleb are both good. Great science live as always!
Plants breathe in the air we breathe out. R51 was funny.
One of my favorite science live videos so far!
Love David and Caleb! Great explanations and entertaining segment!
How are scientists inspired to do things like this?
I vote both. teamwork makes the dream work
R 51 had another funny day
David and Caleb both did fantastic. I vote for both.
that was an amazing video thankyou Dr. Billings
I vote for both Caleb and David.
Scientist’s are cool!!!
R-51 created little robots.
I LOVE YOU ROGER BILLINGS!
Flying a drone in a storm is a great idea hope it works one day.
David and Caleb get my vote. Teamwork is great!
how could the hydrogen drone fly into a tornado without get destroyed by the high wind speeds?
teamwork makes the dream work
I thought learning about the history of the vacuum tube diode was great.
I liked seeing how people invent things to save lives!