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 »
How much data can the nasa computer store?
Love these videos thanks!
I really enjoyed the part about the moon landing. Did you know there’s a movie about it?!?
how old is Roger Billings?
Keep up the good work!
Awesome video!
Some people think the moon landing is fake but I think it was real. Loves the episode I love science
i’m so happy to be a student of ACELLUS
Computers are so fascinating!
I love Science Live!
Thank you Acellus for taking the time to teach such fantastic information!
Science lives are always so interesting!
When is the theories class coming out
A bit late but I really enjoyed this video :3
This live was great , I love Acellus!!
Thank you Acellus for taking your time to teach such fantastic information!
So cool how you are able to use 1 and 0!
Acellus world looks so fun
I really liked this episode!!!
I can’t believe they are trying to launch a million satellites into space. That is crazy!
R-51 is so fun to watch cracks me up everytime!
this was such a great lesson!! it was really interesting 🙂
*Why is it that in binary code, a 10 actually equals 2? Isn’t that just more confusing?
I didn’t know 1 and 0 made words when in computing
i love Acellus!!
the story about the space mission was cool.
It was funny when the error came up when they were talking about the moon landing when they were having errors as well.
I love Acellus this was a good episode!
I really like the detail in this video!
Hi there! Great video. Thanks for discussing computers! Super interesting to hear about all those different topics.
I really enjoyed this lesson.
It’s fascinating how a university can convert one material into another in such a simple manner.
Hello from Palau 🙂
Acellus world looks so cool. It would be so neat to meet my teachers in real life!
I love the positive energy everyone has in these videos!
I find it interesting how computers have evolved through time. Even people have evolved through such cool technology!
Scientific episode 😉
Such a good lesson!! Thank you so much!
can’t wait for Acellus world.
im from kentucky
Where is all the power coming from to produce 2 gigawatts? Another question I have is what is the data being used for and how much data centers are there on Earth?
I loved this episode! Can’t wait for more!
These are such good videos, I really enjoy them!
Lots of interesting information. R-51 can’t be more fun.
I love these science lives
i wish i could attend in person but i sadly can’t, great episode though!!
Love how yall take yalls time to help us learn.
I can’t wait for the next one!!!
R-51 is super funny. Great episode today!
How do they get the information onto the computer chip?
it is so cool t learn about things from the past i love it
This episode was very iteresting!
I wonder what exactly scientists do during the process of converting carbon dioxide into formate? Great episode as usual.
I love conspiracy theories!!! A class on that at Acellus World would be so much fun!
I loved how y’all talked in detail most of time
so many interesting things to learn every week!
I love this video!!!
Hello, from NC!
loved this month’s episode
I love learning from these videos!
This video was really interesting
This was a good lesson
Vacuum tubes are cool
the first conspiracy theory class? I don’t know if I can go…but I REALLY hope I can now!
I love science live.
Great episode! I really enjoyed it!
Learned alot about vacuum tubes and there many uses thru applications . Amazing how long this technology has been around.
How they get the satellites into space is interesting.
when did science live start
how do astronuagts get down from space
I enjoyed this video because I plan to get a degree in computer science.
Hi science live and R-51!
Wow, I never new about that. That’s pretty cool.
*awesome video I really enjoyed it
I would love to go to Acellus world this year!
I learned a lot this week!
I liked learning about Buzz and Neil going to space.
My mom talks about playing Oregon trail on floppy disks when she was little
Hello from NE!
It was very interesting!
another week, another Science Live
Solid science live this week.
this is very good for me to know! keep doing this.
We’re really looking forward to Dr. Edmond’s Conspiracy Theories class! We enjoyed learning from Dr. John about how they might put AI data centers in space. It was very interesting to learn about Margaret Hamilton’s role in the Apollo 11 mission from Dr. Tobias. And we especially enjoyed the Proteges and Inventioneers explaining vacuum tubes in computers and the use of binary.
thanks Dr. Billings!
I thought that it was neat that it is 1 and 0 on a switch. Also I hope Dr. Tobias gets his voice back.
hi form pennsylvania
This episode had very many interesting points I am thankful for all accelus does and offers.
Thank you for this lesson it was for informative,learned a lot
Love it!💙💛
Liked learning about how computers were made.
I have never heard of a “Comptometer” before until today
I thought the story about the moon landing was cool.
Acellus is very helpful
My tablet is like a computer
Technology is fascinating.
What’s the most exciting space mission besides the moon landing?
I love acellus and R51 :>
R51 is so funny!
This video was extremely interesting, thank you for sharing.
I can’t believe computers were so big
Binary is the language computer speaks. I did not know.
Loved today’s live, the topics everybody includes are very intriguing! Looking forward to the next one.
I love science Live!
I liked learning about the cooling system and about the scientist one day I hope to be a scientist
Great episode! Can’t wait to watch next week’s! 😀
Such an interesting video, i enjoyed learning about computers soo much!!!
This was one of my favorites so far!
I liked learning about spaceships!!
hi from Canada 🇨🇦
Computation is fascinating to me, as I’m fascinated by things that are related to technology in general.
Computers are so simple, yet do so many complex things.
hi from canada
Great video! I like science live, they are really funny.
I liked learning about the computer history.
A great Science Live episode!
I enjoyed this episode!! I liked learning about floppy disc. I’m so excited about Acellus world.
First I would like to say thank you to Mr. Billings for all the effort he puts into this and to all of my amazing teachers! Especially Mr. Edmond who made me love history again! Anyways, I loved learning about the trips to the moon. Space has always really fascinated me so learning about that and how you have to send the ship to where the moon will be instead of is at the current time was really cool! And I actually did enjoy learning about how computers are made and got their ones and zeros code. I hope we get to learn more about space soon! See you next time
This was a spectacular episode! I can’t wait for the next one!
It’s not how the teachers know what to say! It’s amazing
That is insane that what a Ai data center looks like, this was very informational!!
It’s fascinating how quickly they were suppressed by transistors, which solved the sized, heat, and reliability issues almost immediately.
Cant wait for acellus world!
I love how every teacher knows how to explain everything really good!
I found the section on microcurrents and vacuum tubes interesting.
I’m not sure how I feel about AI. The world is already a scary place.
It’s funny that Dr. B said that R51 was a waste of time to lol.
That’ll be really cool if we get those satellites up and running!
Thank this episode I understand about computer! Thank you team!
I love science live 😀
I love these science lives. Very interesting!
this has been very educational and entertaining
My parents always told me stories about their experiences with computers when they were young, we’ve come so far! 😀
I am amazed at how we travel in space against all odd.
they use vacuum tubes for weather reports, this was all fascinating !
I really enjoyed this episode.
Happy Valentines Day!
That video was another good video, teaching me new things and I think the science live videos are just getting better and better.
That was such a good Golem impression lol
That little action trailor thing scared me! Yall are so funny. Anyways fashionably late per usual.
I wounder how much processing power that NASA computer had?
This was a great live I appreciate all the detail and effort put into these!
R-51 is really interesting!
Loved this! Can’t wait for the next episode.
I love Area 51! *
Sending AI production into space is a fascinating concept!
I always like watching these
The AI data centers, operating constantly consume as much electricity as a small City
Thuis episode was truly the best! can’t wait for the next one.
This was interesting and I like hearing about how the digital age was impacted.
I’ve used the study platform. I wish I could go in person.
where was the first computer made
Learning about computers was so fun.
Acellus makes learning so fun!
The Acellus world fair looks really cool!
Why is there so much needed to go to space?
It sounds really hard to get to the moon.
How did he figure out to make the switch have logic?
How do numbers end up in electricity?
R51 is so funny!
I hope one day I can invent something too.
Loving Acellus from tx.
i really did enjoy this video especually towards the end ive always found these videos interesting keep it going
I liked learning how you can get more solar energy in space because there are no clouds and the sun is there all the time. Thank you for sharing
Cool video, I liked learning about Margaret Hamilton and her coding. I didn’t know that it was because of her that the moon landing succeeded, that’s pretty neat!
Acellus is AWESOME
How long does it take to build a transistor diode?
Computers have really changed over the years. I can’t imagine using a floppy disc.
How computers went from being huge machines to tiny devices you can carry around is so cool! Acellus World also looks like such a fun event!
I really though how the devices were created was interesting I also liked how every device has its own language in numbers!
Last week video was very cool and I kind of had an idea prior to what it was about and I was wanting to learn more so I REALLY understood it. But, THIS week (Feb 4th) video has me intriqued. I wanT to learn more and more. I sometimes watch these science videos over and over just to better get a grip I didn’t know how much i really don’t know about the world and it’s just overwhelming sometimes but at the same time I’m thirsty for more and more.
Wow this is amazing!!
I love the way they explain the technology spotlight! I love Science Live
It’s crazy to hear about just how huge space is and how we explore it! Lessons like these are so cool and engaging.
This was really fascinating. I didn’t know anything about vacuum tubes before this Science Live but after, I even did my own deeper research on them. Thank you for another wonderful Science Live!
wonderful video this week, can’t wait for the next one!
R-51 was really fun to learn about!
Thank you for sharing. The Science Live is gettting more interesting!
This was another interesting episode. I’m curious, how much storage capacity in kilobytes did the ENIAC Computer have?
Interesting! I’ve always really liked binary. I took coding in third grade. Thank you for sharing!
acellus world sounds so good
love computers. Thank you for the program.