Tuned Radio
January 28, 2026 • EPISODE 295
How do radios tune in to specific stations? In this episode of Science LIVE, Dr. Roger Billings explores the tuned radio—how circuits are adjusted to select particular frequencies so we can hear one station clearly among many. Learn why tuning is essential for radio reception and how the first wireless radio signal crossed the Atlantic Ocean, launching a new era of global communication.
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 »
today was amazing I loved the snow butterfly’s
Hello from Tennessee!
Can radios be tuned automatically?
The facts in these lives are amazing! love it!
So inspirational!!!
i can’t wait for computer clothes because then we are one step closer to super VR experiances with being able to simulate touch and eventualy waight.
I really like the computer string!
Thank you for doing Science Live! I really enjoyed the scenes with the pirates and thought it was super funny and creative!!!
Rewatching this episode before the new one tonight!
I really loved this one!
Thank you for another great Science Live!
I love science live!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Radios are neat. I love listening to music.
The video was interesting. I learned about radios!
The R51 Radio was really funny!!!!
Hi, I like to watch the weather channel too. Did you all get a lot of snow? I want to be a scientist one day.
I love Science Live and acellus
The vacuum tube was cool
What is a dark star.
I hope what turned radios be like in the future.
what is a blue monster galaxy?
why do electronics need wifi and how do there systems work?
Radios are so cool, amazing video as always !
You always make the science live so fun to watch and always something new to learn
My grandpa has a old radio it tunes
Very good video. keep these coming!!!
This was such a fascinating episode, I can’t wait for next week’s episode.
If they were to make smart clothes would they need to make the whole shirt out of a special material or would only the parts of the shirt that contain the computer string need to be different?
This radio concept is so cool!
Great job to the protégés!
Radios have evolved so much since when they were first invented!
I would like to use the James web telescope to see a blue monster galaxy. It would probably be awesome.
I want a radio!
The radio wave were really cool I finally understand them thank you for teaching so much about them
I love that I am able to experience this online school, I love the radio lessons
tech has gotten a lot different in modern times
These lives are so educational.
I just love Science Live so much!
First, I was pleased to learn that many schools are making great progress, all with the help of the Acellus program. One school in California used to have only sixty percent of students passing school. Now ninety-nine are passing with the help of Acellus!
Next, Mr. Tobias talked about WIFI. John Sullivan was a man who lived in Australia who loved black holes. He found that he could use an equation he made much earlier to make WIFI much more efficient. He used it to pull the WIFI signals out of a distorted wave, which gave the ability to use the internet in many areas.
Finally, R-51 tried to find a way to make Pajet like him more. He found out that she loves butterflies, but because it is winter, he can’t find any! He decided to make “snow butterflies” where he just sculpted them out of the snow. At least he is creative and passionate about her.
I love listening to you guys explain this!!!
The history of the radio is interesting when everything we use for communication and for the dispersal of information is so instantly available.
Very grateful I get the opportunity to watch these videos. They are explained so well.
I can’t believe they came up with such cool technology like the computer chip string.
These science lives are so exciting! Im so grateful to see them every Wednesday
This Lesson on Tuned radios was really cool and the history behind it was very inspiring by just how Marconi never gave up on trying to send a signal across the world.
Also, who said that R-51 was the favorite???
what is a ” blue monster galaxy ” ?
The evolution of radios. Very interesting when in today’s society we have so much available to us in the palm of our hands. Instantly.
I think that it is funny that wi-fi does not mean anything they just came up with it.
That’s so crazy that he can make a invention that can pull radio waves. Loved this week
how far can radio signals go
Wow, I really liked this one.
The computer thread is so cool!
Do you think radios will be completely replaced by streaming services?
I think its cool how much the radio has evolved.
I really liked the proteges video! They did a good job.
I am not sure if I would like to wear computerized threaded clothing. How would an entire garment made of this thread react with our bodies?
Tuned radio technology is fascinating because it allows selective reception of desired radio signals by adjusting the receiver’s frequency.
Radios are very interesting.
are radios connected to wifi?
It interesting how they can make a computer in a string
I think radios are really cool
Those little strings are super cool.
Acellus is certainly very popular in the homeschool community!
I always learn so much!!
Science live is great!
Interested in building the radio kit
I would love to buy a kit with gold points to put together. I wouldn’t want to have it already done for me. This is always so interesting.
I found the topic of the computer thread and prospects of it eventually being made into smart fabric so cool. I wonder how long it will be before smart clothing is commercialized and will be able to buy it.
I love the radio, but we never seem to get any of the channels that I’m interested in listening to. I wonder why some come in better than others.
I love how scientist never give up like laying the wires under the water. I am so encouraged to never give up. Great show.
So cool learning about radios today
I love science live !!!I liked the winter butteries
Maybe one day we will be wearing smart clothes with the fiber computers. And I’m sure were all glad that we have IEEE 802.11
Could the computer threads be colored? And what kind of sensors could you install within the thread?
Would the computer chip wires be in every clothing or can we choose to have it or not?
The telescope sounds so cool!!
How radios work is interesting.
Why is wifi on a washing machine?
So cool to see someone else use empty toilet paper rolls for something. I like to save them.
It was geat. I’m glad we have wifi so I can home school! The “it” part was funny!
Science marches on!
This is so neat. my mom works at a radio station so i am around the equipment all the time.
Great topic on tuning into different radio stations.
Do you ever think there will be a time when scientists think they have taken technology to far.
I want to learn more about dark stars!
I am so excited about the computer thread. Can’t wait to watch TV on my sleeve😂
Cool how they made it out of house hold materials
It was interesting to see the evolution of radio. And to hear how it was used for more than music.
We cannot wait to get a radio with our coins!
I love being able to watch Science Live!
How did you create the Area 51 contraption radio?
I love these science live videos so much thanks for making them.
Computers are so neat.
I LOVE SCIENCE LIVE!
This live was great, I love seeing these every week!
Really interesting ScienceLive!
Radios are so cool I have always loved using them in all the different ways mostly communicating, podcasts and music.
Will tuned radios be needed in the future?
Thats amazing how Bill stood for himself and created a new radio invention!
I love waching these so neat I can learn a lot from these
I love science live.
Will the tuned radios be needed in the future?
radios are so cool how they work
Comment: The radio is an effective and cool piece of technology
I love learning new things every-time I watch these videos!
Very interesting. Yeah put the build a radio things in the shop.
We already do need them
Im so grateful to be able to watch these educating science lives
It’s so cool how much we have evolved from back then with the radio signals and how we can communicate all across the world
I remember using the radio, but its interesting to see the evolution from then to now!
I liked learning about radios and how they tune different stations.
We still use thoes radios.
Always love learning more. These lives explain so well
You explain this so well.
IMO one of the pivotal inventions for human communication, and quite amazing that it was invented technically before the 20th century!
my dad always told me stories about radios so im glad I got to learn more about them today!
radios are cool
science live is my favorite part of wednesdays!
why are electronics important?
I did not know you can make a Radio out of household materials!
the computer string was cool!
what will they use the transistor “thread” for?
Thank you Very interesting I wish we had better Wi-Fi
This video was really cool!
I love science live.
Hello From Louisiana. I love science live and I love how this episode was about tuned radios.
I would like some science kits in the store, ones we have to put together ourselves, and of a variety of subjects. I think that is a fantastic idea!
WiFi looks a little more interesting to me now!
the blue monster galexy’s and dark stars sound so cool
Wow the fact of having a shirt where all the threads are made of a bunch of computers is amazing
As always this was a great live.
Cool computer string
Hi From St. Marys, Ga
That’s incredible that you can create an R-51 radio, that’s just facinating to me.
WOW!!! that string is really cool!! You could make so many different things with that.
yes like PCs could have GIGANTIC storage and like they said smart gloves, smart shirts , even smart shoes!
Why is l WiFi required for electronics
I love when I get to learn something new from Science live every week!
Will radio transmissions ever be compact enough to be like to SciFi movies we see where they talk into small devices?
Black holes are fascinating.
How do engineers make computer chips
Tying a computer in a knot is pretty wild.
The computer string was interesting and fun to watch
what do computer strips do?
This was super interesting, thank you!
Awesome! I love Acellus.
If you have to correct your teacher be respectful doing it.
I thought the part about the computer chip thread was interesting and how they could use it on clothes I even have a name for it like a smart phone it could be “smart” clothes.
I love science live!
what is the longest distance a radio wave has traveled?
Amazing and interesting video live
this is so cool. very interesting about the computer string.
We love Science Live!
It was interesting learning more about how WiFi was created, thank you for the wonderful episode!
Interesting I thought WiFi was short for something.
Area is like a gift at the end of the science live.
I enjoyed learning about John sullivan!
It’s crazy how they can fit that much into a tiny computer thread!
I can’t believe that there’s a whole computer inside of a string.
These lives are always so informative! I’ve always wondered why Wi-Fi was named that!
That’s cool how they named Wi-Fi !
I really love the Protègès! And I really like the idea for the radio for R-51 I would love it in the gold store.
are radios still used much?
Comment I always wondered how WiFi worked, thanks for this information!!
the computer string was pretty cool showing how the future can look like with tech.
Put it in the store it would be awesome!!!!!!!!!!!
Could radio waves be used to implement wireless charging for any device, possibly in the future?
What new technology using the computer string would be made the soonest?
It was awesome to learn about how WIFI and radios work because I have always been curious about it.
This was a great video because I have always been curious on how WIFI and radios work so its was awesome to finally learn about it.
definitely put the r51 radio in the gold store
How would people people be able to communicate with the computer wire? Would it be connected to a nearby computer?
it’s crazy that radio frequencies can reach across the globe and people can communicate from all over the world
I love it when people come up with names without meaning and then meaning is added later! i hope that makes sense
Wifi and radios are very interesting on how they work.
I did not know that wifi had no meaning behind it thanks tobias.
This was so awesome to learn about. Thank you for teaching us!
The segment about Wi-Fi was so interesting!
this is sooooo intresting!!!!!
Great and interesting live as always!!
the computer chip in the string is so cool
The live was very entertaining and I found it very interesting how a tiny string could operate like a computer.
Thank you for a great video. I learned a lot. I will see you next time.
who created the transmitter thread
Guglielmo Marconi in 1896!
I love that these videos are so informative!
I love how incredibly in depth all the lives are
these teach me a lot! And I really enjoy them! They are also really funny!
The computer thread is amazing. I love the proteges way of explaining.
this is so cool
Crazy how we still use the radio today.