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 »
Science live is so cool
I really liked this episode because I found out about pixels and I never knew what they were.
i saw a rocket launch once! space is so cool!
Learning how computers were made is another interesting topic. What is a computer chip made off? I know all chips are very sensitive especially car keys lol. My mom forgot her car key in her pocket and takes a swim and well that set is most definitely damaged and no longer working.
I like to watch the Science live 51!
It must have been scary to be in the moon and all those error messages happening.
Thank you for the useful and wonderful information.
Thank you for the useful and wonderful information.
these videos are honestly so interesting i love watching them !
The segment about moon landing was awesome!
Happy early Valentine’s Day to everybody!
Great Episode, I loved the part about the moon.
Awesome video really loved it!
David and Caleb are so hilarious! I like the part when they say “No no no nooo!” like they didn’t want to explain and the part where they watched that terrible movie, It was absolute cinema! Get it?! also please make Acellus Bot Plushies.
This video was one of the funniest ones.
I always look forward for these vide and watch the previous ones. ( GREAT VIDEO )
I love the detailed explanations of the events in the video!!
The space mission story is so interesting
I loved learning more about the moon landing it was really informative!
Today is a good day to try something new even if you’re scared to do it or nervous or anxious or conflicted to do it, just do it. You’ll never know the actual results until you do it. There is always room for improvement and learning. Become the best version of you that you always dreamed or think about. God bless you all!
I enjoyed watching today’s Science Live.
This was very interesting. Thank you.
How much money would sending 1 million datacenters into space cost?
I love science live and i can’t wait for Acellus World!!
What was Hamilton’s role in the Apollo missions?
I learn something new everyday because of acellus !
It was an inspiring video about the importance of education and hard work. We are excited to start our learning journey
That was an amazing story about Margaret’s coding and the moon landing.
This was an amazing episode! I love science lives
I love these so much! So interesting 🙂
These are such fun videos!
Funny how you can’t just aim a rocket straight at the moon, a lot of calculation is needed.
Can’t wait for the next episode!
I love learning about space, rockets, and all the tech
I wish I could attend Acellus world! This live was a blast!
I love watching roger billings live!
I loved the part about the moon it has always facinated me sorry I am late to this
Wish I could watch every day
This was so much fun I loved it thanks!!!!
I live in Northwest Indiana and my parents are upset that our utilities have doubled and tripled due to inflated delivery charges being used to build infrastructure for data centers. My parents are very excited about the idea Elon has to put the data centers in space.
Thank you for the interesting video! Happy valentines day
Does Anyone Have A Favorite Part From The Video On What Each Teacher Were Presenting.
THANK YOU SO SO MUCH! Really interesting stuff today.
I am so excited about Acellus World!
This is a great Live!
The data centers going to space is such an interesting topic. Could be why lunar missions are a priority.
Cant wait for the next one!
Why are computers are so complicated
I want to begin learning long sentences in code!
R51 is so funny
I know what a floppy disk is.
I love learning through Acellus!!
I hope we will be able to go to the moon again soon. I’d love to watch the astronauts land live !!
I love r51 he’s so funny
It was interesting learning about vacuum tube computing and how important it generally was for the growth of personal computers.
you all explain things excellently, love it
This is interesting. How was it made?
Thank you for another fun lesson!
I like how they taught how computers started and how used them to go to space.
Whoa! Acellus World sound so awesome! I’d love to go!
this was such an interesting lesson
I enjoyed learning this weeks science live about computers . I love science live !
I love Acellus
great episode coming back next week!
I wanna go to mars one day
i love the detail each person gives about a topic. it makes me understand it better
It’s fun learning more about computers.
i didn’t know that when switches are on in binary it equals a number one, and when its off it equals a zero…10101010101010
I love science live!
the code is very interesting
What are computer chips made out of
The previews of the Acellus event is so cool!! It amazes me the endless opportunities this school provides!
What is vacuum tube computing?
It’s truly so facinating how far technology has come in such a short time!
This was a great science live and I’m excited for the next one!
Really good episode. Ilike the ENIAC and how this impact todays world. R51 so nice.
i love Acellus!!!
This is a really good episode.
Today episode was great, how awesome was the ENIAC. R51 so fun. Science /technology makes a better world.
I learn a lot of from these lives!! thank youu
I like the vacuums tubes R51 and trying to figure out the binary. lol
Pizza delivery was so dramatic and hilarious at the same time.
Lily
01001100 01101001 01101100 01111001
I loved this episode it was super informative!
When could we have the ability to go to mars?
I love how everyone explains perfectly, it really helps me pay attention and know what im learning about!
I love when science live talks abut things from space or things used in space
This is so cool loved this weeks live.
i had no idea you could get more electricity from the sun when ur in space.
I really didn’t think that landing on the moon would be such a process. Love science live
I love how flexible Acellus is!!
This episode was so interesting! I enjoyed how each teacher took the time to explain in a super engaging way! Thank you for another great video!
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The moon landing story was interesting didn’t know they had to write code by hand. Looking at the stack of code amazes me due to the hardwork that went into to that .
Another amazing episode. Thank you, Science Live.
Vacuum tube computing is the OG! Also I love R51!!!!
I really appreciate that you make these videos for us as a learning experience.
This video was by far my favorite! It interested me so much I would really love more videos like this
We love science live. Nd love learning about computers
this is so cool!!! i love science live
I’m really close to graduating!
I enjoyed learning more about the computers systems that were used in the rocket. It reminded me of the time I went to the computer museum. There was a lot of similar memorabilia there and even an entire room dedicated to the moon landing.
I can’t imagine having to use comptometer.
This video was so great. Thank you for making it. I learned a lot.
Thank you so much for another great week
Very interesting video. I love watching science live!
I love acellus!
space mission was cool!
There is a lot more to AI than I thought. I learned that Margaret Hamilton helped land a ship on the moon using her software. Binary code is complex. Technology has changed so much since then. I also learned that Dr. Roger Billings was the president of a Caldisk company and was involved in creating the double sided floppy disk drive for computers.
I love the section on binary code!
Vaccum tubes are so cool
I really liked that proteges video.
i love science livesssssss
This is so interesting to listen to while drawing and whatnot : )
I learned a lot thank you so much!
I love science live! It’s so interesting!
Learning about computers is cool!
learing about how computers were made abel learning how code different things was interesting.
Great episode, I really enjoyed the Acellus World preview.
Loved this episode. It was so interesting.
I really love science live
haha another great live! I’ll remember this one!
Acellus World looks amazing, there are definitely many different learning experiences.
It was Very cool learning about the astronauts landing.
I love this homeschooling program
I learned that Elon musk got permission to launch a million satellites into outerspace.
Acellus world looks pretty cool.
What would my name be in code?
First time watching a video, it was super informative!
I like rocket ships and the moon!
Can there be warm spaces in space without stars
I wish I can speak in binary…
I learn a lot on Science Live
The backstory of the lunar landing got me glued to the screen!
Great work making these! 👏👏👏😁
Computers are cool
Always enjoy the science lives!
solid episode, I’m really excited to see how far AI can take us with science
I love rocket ships
It’s amazing to hear how the code for the spaceship that landed on the moon was built. The part where they had to weave it seemed like it would be so tedious. The protégés segment was also really funny.
I love how everything’s explained
I wonder how it’s like to be at Acellus science live?
I look forward to these!
So interesting! I love learning about new things every week. Thank you for Science Live!
Thank you for all of this information
Love!!❤️♥️💙
Happy early valentines Acellus.
I learned about this in stem!
My favorite time of the week!
I loved how they talked about the satellites and how there trying to put a bunch on Mars. I also liked how they talked about how computers worked and how they’ve evolved throughout the years. This live was very informative.
Coding is so interesting, and I want to learn more.
I really want to learn my name in binary! I also did not know how complicated landing on the moon was until now!
Thank you for this lesson!!
what happens when you much electricity goes through a circut
I really liked this episode! It was cool learning how old computers used to be huge and needed vacuum tubes just to work. Dr. Billings made it fun to see how computers went from giant machines to the small ones we use today. It helped me understand how much technology has changed and why those early computers were such a big deal.
I thought it was really cool learning about the Billings Computer! It’s crazy to think Dr. Billings built his own computer back when most computers were huge and took up whole rooms. It helped me understand how computers got smaller and smarter over time. It made the history of technology way easier to understand and actually really fun.
Pretty good live this week. Looking forward to the next science live!
I truly appreciate the information shared
I really enjoyed this Science Live! I love Acellus!
*Thank you for the interesting lesson!
I always thought that if there was any issue on the space station even a very small one everything had to pause to fix the issue. So it was very cool to learn that if the issue is small enough it can be ignored.
Acellus is great!
Science live family night!
Thank you Dr. Billings and staff.. Love science live family night
I am thankful God gave us so many resources to help us advance in science and technology.
My mom showed me old floppy discs.
Acellus world sounds like so much fun. I hope I can go. Thanks Roger Billings
Fun science live!
I went to the last Acellus World! It was sooo much fun!
Hearing the about the whole accidental button bumping just reminds me of how we’re all just a bunch of curious human beings and it’s hilarious
Compared with today ‘s smartphone, what are the fundamental differences between vacuum tube -era computers and modern smartphones in terms of functionality, usage scenarios, and social impact?
See you next week
how does our phone screen only react to our skin and not work to anything else like fabric, metal and etc?
Thank you for another great live Science episode. I always learn a lot from these episodes.
This was so cool!
Love the weekly videos!
I never knew that about the moon landing🌙🚀
Computers have came a long way from what they used to be. I look forward to Science live every week because I learn something new every episode.