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 liked watching the video and learning from it
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In my opinion, Acellus Is the best homeschooling program in the world !!!
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I love acellus
The rocket was really cool !!
Space is fun!
good evening from TX sorry i’m late I forgot.
hey I’m learning a lot from this live
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I really like your tie!
The moon is so cool
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Hi from Kingsport.
Hi from Kingsport Tn.
Dr. Tobias’s voice he did at the beggining of his segment, made me laugh SOOOOO Hard !!! Question for Tobias, How Did you do the difrent voices?
Yeah, was he a voice actor or smth?
Pretty good live so far
Hi from Maine!
Honestly it’s really interesting
Hi, from Texas glad to be here so excited to learn about space. 😄
Hi i love this live!
I like this live too.
I didn’t know the moon landing came so close to not happening when they were that close
HI FROM MS
It would be awesome to travel to the moon
hello from montana
I love the moon and the computer really did that.
It is amazing how they made a vacuum tube into a computer!
elaina from Illinois!
Hey, here from Texas!
If the window is also a triangle, would that assist in approx calculations of landing?
Hello from New Jersey!
Watching from Texas!!!
hi from ohio !!!!
im from ohio to
I think it was very scary about how nobody from NASA listened to Margaret about coding safety features for astronauts so when they bumped the wrong button they didn’t have to abort mission and come all the way back to earth. From Las Vegas
the rocket was so neat. and i really enjoy learning about space.
Hello from Texas!
Thanks Tobias, that sounds scary!
Maddie from Arkansas
I love acellus. The videos are very educational and informative
*Hello from Mississippi
hi from nj !
Hi from Missouri!
How much power does it take to power AI?
Wow even astronauts had to suffer the blue screen of death.
Hello from Delaware!
didnt know the moon landing was that complex, thats pretty cool
Space is amazing.
The blue screen of death…
Hello from Montana
Was an interesting point about how you must to calculate where is gonna be the moon in three days before the journey.
cooling system in space is very smart
Hi from Maine!
Hello from Florida!
i would like to learn how to program.
Maddie
I love learning anything related to space, so I’m finding this live to be very interesting! Ahriana from Kansas.
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Hey from TN!
from VA
Hi from NJ!!
Hello Im Keyfer, From Mississippi, AI is so interesting I didn’t realize how much energy ai uses.
It was intersting to hear how technological advancement, such as space travel, requires skills/capabilities that you woudln’t initially think of. For isntance, the seamstresses were called in to weave for NASA. It was also fascinating to learn about Margret Hamilton’s role in the Apollo Moon Landing.
Weaving the programs must’ve taken so long! Hi from NY
Hi from NY
krue is here from kc
Data centers in space would be awesome!
Hi from New Mexico and I have a question about the moon how many days does it take to get there?
Hello from Tennessee! I love space.
Love the science videos
Hi happy to be here from TN!
I hope you feel better soon 🙂
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Hi from CT!!!!
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Very interesting Tobias.
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It’s crazy that computers were that big!
how do they send stuff up to space. hi form Nj
this is Zander checking in from GA
Hiii from north carolina
Greetings from Texas!!
Hello from indiana
Watching from GA!
I have seen the space x satellite and I thought it was alien before I found out what it was
I can not believe that hand wove that to create code.
Hello from NC!
I love tybus he is so cool.
I love science live!
Hi from Utah
Hi everyone. I’m happy I get to watch live this week.
Hello, from Maryland
what is the biggest memory storage amount?
Computers have come such a long way! It’s crazy to think how fast technology progressed in just the last 20-40 years!
How would data be transmitted efficiently between space-based AI systems and Earth?
AI makes things SO MUCH easier!
its cool how much electricity ai needs to work.
R51 R51
I love these science lives!
Dr. John, I like how you talked about space and facts about it like it is cold in space.
I like the idea of a new space ship
The rocket is super cool!
hello from Brazil!
Space is so interesting the way that time, rotation, and etc woks in space. Along with launching rockets and the science behind it is some cool stuff.
*Hello from Wisconsin. Excited for another Wednesday night live!
Best part of my week!!! Science live Wednesday!! Cayden from the Midwest!
how much money would it take to send one million satellites into space? And how much power?
It’s crazy that AI takes that much water!
I love how beautiful the moon is! I love learning about the moon!
hi from Ruskin, Florida
It’s interesting how much electricity AI has to use for it to work. Thanks for sharing!
hello from the dominican republic!!
hi from alabama
how do people actually get things up in space
Hi from Nevada
Hey, from Indiana
hello from lousiana
AI has changed our world perspective!!
Hiii i love science live!
luke here watching from texas!
There are a lot of data centers in my area!
Could AI be developed to where it would successfully run datacenters it self? Perhaps controlling all aspects with minimal external manipulation?
Water cooling is so cool!
Hi! why do the centers need water to run ai?
Hi from Nevada, Las Vegas.
It’s been a year and I’m finally back on acellus
Hi from Florida, I thought how ai uses so much water was interesting.
What? They do(I got here in the middle of Tobias’s part)?
Hello for blizzarding MD!
Hello from Texas!!!
Hi from SC I love science live, I always learn so many things!!
I really enjoy Science Live!!
Hello from Chandler, TX
How do you think ai will evolve in the future and learn more but also how do you think we could modify it so it can use less water?
WOW! This is the first time to hear about xAI!
Hi! Watching from Texas!!
hi from nebraska
Looking forward to tonights Science Live!
hi from Ct!!!
Technology Spotlight is one of my favorite spotlights! I think the idea of data spotlights in space would be so cool if it didn’t cost as much but cool idea! Cole from Maryland….TKS
Hi from maryland
AI being integrated into space exploration sounds promising!!
Hello from sunny California. Looking forward to another science live 🙂
Hello from South Texas!
Science Live is amazing!
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hi from Illinois
Hi From Tennessee!!!
Acellus Science Live’s are the coolest
Hello from Texas! AI is an interesting topic.
hi from Murfreesboro Tennessee
Hi there from Ohio.
hello from North Carolina
hi from AZ
Yea one of the only things I don’t like about Ai is how much power it uses.
Hello from Missouri. Super excited for this week’s episode 😍
How would one go about in trying to make these data centers more energy efficient?
Hi from Newnan, GA!
Hey everyone. From Texas- KK
Howdy from Texas!
Happy wednesday!
Good evening Science Live team.
Hello from Texas.
Watching from Mississippi
Hello from Texas.
Good evening, I’m excited about science live and learning new info with Dr. Roger Billings!
that’s a lot of CPU’s. :O
Is the acellus world on a wednesday?
Hi from West Virginia!
Hi excited for the upcoming event even though we probably won’t be able to attend I’ll toon in
Water? Use use water to run AI??
AND THats hugee
Hi from mo. Excited for tonight 🤗
I LOVE SCIENCE LIVEEEEE ITS AWESOME HIIIII ROGER BILLINGGS
Hello from NY!
Hello from Maryland 🙂
Hi Sci Live!! Jace from FL!!
hello from illinois
hi from Texas
Hi from chicago
They just put a data center near my town and I never realized how much power they use until they came here and it became a big debate.
how much water does ai use
HI from Sparks,NV. Does AI use more water or electricity?
Hello from Michigan hope all is well for everyone.
Hi from california
hello everyone, happy Wednesday!
Hi from Texas