Vacuum Tube Computing
February 4, 2026 • EPISODE 296
How did computers go from filling entire rooms to fitting in your hand? In this episode of Science LIVE, Dr. Roger Billings and the Protégés explore vacuum tube computing and the technology that launched the digital age. Hear stories about early machines, the Billings Computer, and floppy disks as Dr. Billings shares his firsthand experiences helping shape modern computing.
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 love vacuum tubes
could we learn some more on how computers work
Interesting lesson about vacuum tube computing. It is amazing how early computers worked before modern technology.
that was so funny! love computers. love to watching DrB
It’s crazy how far technology has come from when it was first invented to now.
I never new technology was so cool!!! I think the moon is so cool as well!!! I love watching David and Caleb too!( and r51 of course!)
This week’s Science Live was great!
wow that’s really cool how they did that!!
I liked the proteges part
Great episode! I love learning!
This made early computing very easy for people to use .
This live was so cool, learning about computers is cooler than I thought.
That was a great science live
We are so lucky that computers are so much smaller than they were when they began. My mom is always saying, “You kids are so lucky.” Didn’t understand that comment, really, because I don’t know a world without computers.
thank you so much computers are so cool!!!!!!!!!!!!
Space is so awesome to learn about.
Before transistors, there were vacuum tubes. So, the basis of the transistor has replaced yesterday’s bulky vacuum tubes with today’s tiny silicon chips which I thought was every interesting . I really enjoyed the video
I love how Creative Science live can get! Also I love R-51 he is so hilarious. 🙂
Very excited for the new conspiracy course!
Putting the ai servers in space is a great idea! But, they will need to shield from solar radiation.
The world is full of computers from big to small.
the story about Apollo 11 was interesting.
the change of computers was great
The vacuum tubes had got me hooked. I might use them for my 2027-2028 space mission.
It’s really cool hearing how involved AI is getting!
I loved talking about space and learning more about technology!
How long did take engineers to invent AI?
hi From Florida! This was such a cool video and I learned so much about computers and ai.
I loved this weeks video and I thought that it was funny and exciting to watch.
Learning about the first calculator was very fascinating. Here from Texas
why don’t they just find a different cooling system?
Funny how Margaret Hamilton‘s four-year-old daughter who accidentally flipped the pre-launch switch playing with the simulator caused Margaret to want to launch a plan for in case an astronaut accidentally bumped a switch. They should have listened to her at that time.
Hi my fav part was when David and Caleb was watching the movie and eating popcorn.
I thought the airplanes were going to explode but they were actually delivering a pizza😂😂
Loved this episode thank you for sharing it.
Hi from Alabama
Thanks for these science lives! Really entertaining!
I loved this weeks episode with the Protegees. Have a great weekend.
Evaporated cooling…wow!
These science live videos are awesome! I love that we have these every week and learn different things each week. I love Acellus!!!
Wow computers are very interesting to learn about.
I really enjoyed this science live thank you
did humans actually go to the moon?
Would putting AI on the moon work better than orbit?
Can the conspiracy theories class include one about the theory of the world being flat, and that space might not exist?
can you deliver my pizza too?? (lol!!)
Hi I’m Ally I’m watching from New Jersey! I really liked when Dr. Tobias was talking about the first time someone landed on the moon. Thank you science live!
we use computers everyday
Computers are so cool!
Learning about how they got to the moon was very interesting. Here from Texas
You stated that the computers are doing computations all the time and learning. What are these computers learning, and how is that knowledge used?
it was cool to learn how computers work . It is so amazing how complex one really is!
R51 so cute
can’t wait to see what’s on today’s video!
I didn’t know computers were so complicated, it’s crazy how advanced they have become.
I love it. I love learning about technology . I think they are COOL!!!.
Enjoyed the technology video today
Blue screen of death…NOOOOOO!!!!
AI always makes me impressed and it would be cool to send AI to space but wouldn’t it make more space junk for future space exploration???? Spaceships are interesting, and I didn’t know it was that hard to get to the moon!!!! I love computers, always had. Nice video
I didn’t know the black tubes were used for water cooling.
I learned more about computers and the little details.
Vacuum tube computing was an early stage in the development of computers, mainly used from the 1940s to the 1950s. Vacuum tubes acted as switches and amplifiers that controlled the flow of electricity inside the computer. These computers were very large, used a lot of energy, and produced a lot of heat, which made them unreliable and expensive to maintain.
R 51 is hilarious! Loved watching this episode
I love this science live! Computers are so awesome.
I really enjoy learning about technology. the advancements are so cool.
It’s so cool that we are so dedicated to making things work that we keep trying for the perfect method for it to properly funtion and making sue that we little thing is done correctly.
Thank you Science Live for teaching me more about computers, I didn’t know that the first computer was used for math! Super cool!
Computers amaze me in so many ways, I always wonder how coding was created. I bet one day ill find out!
;3
The Moon landing was not a easy job!
I didn’t know that vacuum tubes could comput!
Is there a way to build a computer not using the pixels?
that was very fun I hope they make new technology.
awesome as always!
I enjoyed Science Live this week.
I’m excited to see where we go with this!!
I think that science live could be better if what your talking about you brought in something that was about that
i love all of these acelluse videos they are so cool
I love vacuum tubes. They are so useful.
hello from Virginia! This episode was very interesting per usual, I found the clips of acellus world to be really entertaining!
Thank you Science live for teaching me more about computers, I didn’t know that the first computer was use for math super cool
Listening from North Carolina!
Thank you for the video! This week’s episode was great!
Another great week of science live keep it up!
Vacuum tube computing is really cool!
The women who weaved memory into the program was my favorite part!
I loved what Dr. Tobias talked about!
did people actually land on the moon
The development of technology over time is really interesting
Thanks for another science live.
Thank you for providing science lives for us. I enjoy learning new things!
The evolution of computers is crazy.
Learning about AI was super cool
Roger Billings son is funny, and I loved the airplane skit.
hi everyone my fav part of science live is the part with r51
I always look forward to these lives, My favorite part of the week!
This was very informative and interesting video
Watching from Texas
here from illinois
I am learning about radiation in science class
Awesome video today, always getting better.
Wow the history of computers is awesome!
The protégé’s movie was so funny!
I really loved this episode! I love learning about the different computers and I really enjoy all the talk about technology!
Computers are so cool to learn about!
cool as always just like the teachers and r51
If another number combo was used besides 1’s and 0’s, would it be more complex but better processing?
My parents covered their roof with solar panels in Colorado. Unfortunately, they weren’t enough to cover their bill. That is why they bought them. It did lower the cost.
I never knew that 2 +2=4 😏
Computers are very fascinating along with their development
That pizza falling from the air was really funny
Its interesting to see how far computers and technology have come
I loved how you taught me about space and vacuum tubes.
I wonder how much it cost to produce 2.5 millions houses worth of electricity.
Today i learned that the first computer was for the US Army. Also that math has much more porpouse.
This lesson has taught me so much. Thank you! 🙂
As time flies, technology just keeps getting better.
I am watching from Rome.
Alabama here!!
I love R-51! Good stuff as always.
Comment I loved learn about the computers and all the technology is so interesting.
Funny how Margaret Hamilton‘s four-year-old daughter who accidentally flipped the pre-launch switch playing with the simulator caused Margaret to want to launch a plan for in case an astronaut accidentally bumped a switch. They should have listened to her at that time.
Loved learning about the computers!
Hi, it was so funny when R51 just counted the vacuum tubes. Also loved the space talk
I like the airplane’s part.
Love these science lives thx for having them
That video was awesome. I’m so excited to see the video that is gonna be coming up next week. Thank you for making asules
Great science live! When will the Acellus backpack come back in stock?
It’s already in stock at least it is for me
I love technology and science live.
Hello from Tennessee.
I love learning cool stuff!
That was amzing thanks for teching me this asom lesson I can’t wait for the lesson for next week.
What is the true purpose of science?
I think this is my favorite eposide because of everything!
This actually made early computing make sense.
It’s cool that computers went from huge machines to devices that can sit on your desk.
I liked the Apollo 11 computer bug mission story.
Learning about technology is really cool
Science. Is awesome
I like learning about stuff like this.
thanks you teachers Billing, also to all the teachers at Acellus.
I can’t wait for the rocket to tacke all the Ai computers to space.
It is so cool that Acellus does a fair
This is hello from the Bayside area!
Tobias always talks about the most interesting things!
It is cool how the vacuum tube led to the chip. You talked about adding, but can it subtract too? Technology can be so complicated and has so many details!
How do you make a Floppy Disk Drive and what was it used for in early computers?
Audery S. They weave wires and cords to make like a program type thing. I like how Science Live gives information about history and technology.
I liked learning about the change of computers over time.
I loved this episode of science live! And, I couldn’t stop laughing!
I liked the proteges and R51 video. I also liked learning about vacuum tube diodes and Margaret.
Why did people choose to 0 and 1’s for writing binary code?
Why does space get more solar power then earth?
How did Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong not know that the switch was flipped?
I love science live!
I learned so much from this video
hello from Mississippi!!!!!
Science live is so interesting
I didn’t even know AI needs water and cooling but obviously it needs energy. But I think it would be better if we use it for thousands of homes. I wonder if they have satellites in space before they landed in the moon. Good thing the daughter flip the switch because now they had an idea that someone can flip the switch accidently. I always wondered how computers work and now I know and learn alot. Amazing video I really had fun and I learn so much.
Computers are so cool!
What a fascinating livestream
This science live was very fun!
Thank you! Learning about computers is fascinating!
vacuum tubes can create truly amazing things, or even small changes in detail can alter radio signal reception.
I though he was going to say ten or twenty, but a million?!
Learning about computers are my favorite part and radios are so cool.
Loved the science live !!!
It would have been really scary to go to the moon a long time ago.
I loved learning about the binary code! And I also loved how David and Caleb said that was pretty good at the end of the movie it was so funny!
I learned so much I didn’t know about computers! And, I was wondering if you could do a class or activity that teaches you coding on a computer? I just thought that it would be really interesting. And thank you for all you do!
Watching from Maryland
It’s crazy to me how much can go on in such small peices of technology!!
This taught me that small details can matter a lot.
The future seems very space involved but very interesting and cool at the same time.
Is Acellus World just for little kids?
I wonder how long it really took for Margaret and her team to write down all that code by hand for the computer.
Computers are so interesting! I love science!
I love learning about technology! It’s always so interesting!
Hi from Virginia
I love learning about technology!