IC – Divide by 3

February 25, 2026  •  EPISODE 299

How can tiny transistors do math? In this episode of Science LIVE with Roger Billings, discover how integrated circuits use logic gates and on-and-off transistors to multiply, divide, and process numbers. See how a simple “divide by 3” circuit is built—and how millions of these tiny switches working together make today’s powerful computers possible.

Roger Billings also talks about the engineering behind the Falcon 9 from SpaceX. In addition, learn how gallium could be used to generate hydrogen as a clean energy source, highlighting exciting possibilities for future energy innovation.

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 »

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2,645 Comments

  1. Chloie

    I love science so much!

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  2. Ganlin

    science live is really cool.

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  3. Jill

    Gallium is a soft, post-transition metal that’s melts just above room temperature.

    Resisters resists and slow down energy.

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  4. Madison

    I love ur science lives!

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  5. Sadey

    Watching from California, I love this live lessons they are so informative.

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  6. Claire

    the cowboy part was cool!

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  7. Olivia

    Hello watching from North Dakota

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  8. Isabella

    I love these lives they teach me so much!

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  9. Nora

    wow i love this video! it taught me about dividing by 3!!!

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  10. Dana

    Science live is so fun

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  11. Isabella

    I always learn form these lives they are so fun and interesting!

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  12. Adrian

    Hi from Northern Nevada! It’s my first week of homeschooling and I am excited to reach all my weekly goals. Happy Learning, friends.

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  13. Olivia

    It’s so cool how we learn so much by just guessing and learning things(paying attention)!

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  14. Addison

    Loved this one! Look forward to these every week

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  15. Tristan

    Great live today! Keep up the great work

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  16. Alexander

    I’m excited for episode 300!!!

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  17. Jenny

    I’m excited for the cancer treating bacteria that will eat the cells

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    Hello from Georgia!

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    Watching from Virginia..I enjoyed watching Science lab..

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    hi from NC!

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  23. Nicklous

    it’s interesting to see how thing’s we’re invented!!!

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    • Jeniah

      Hello from GA

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  24. Eku

    They tried to make a counter circuit that can divide by three.

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  25. Krispen

    The math dual was awesome.

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    hello from Alabama!

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  42. Stephan

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    i liked the cowboy scenes!

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    I love that the Inventioneer club is having a new kid on their team.

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  50. Mason

    It sounded like Alan Blumlein wanted surround sound. But without him inventing stereo, (two audio sources) we wouldn’t have audio depth often used in telling a play over the radio or listening to a rock hitting the bottom of a chasm in an adventure film with audio.

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    Watching from Mississippi!!

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    Hi from Colorado

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    Hello from taiwan!

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    Hi from Indiana!!

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    Tuning in from Louisiana.🦞

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  57. Khianna

    I replayed a lot of parts, it was truly interesting.

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  58. Travis

    I love theories involving history

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  59. Eliel

    Learning about how IC’s work was interesting, seeing how it can use binary to display numbers

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  60. Maci

    Hello from Tennessee!!!

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  61. Hailey

    This graduation plan could really help me. It was cool learning about the stereo and also rockets are huge!

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  62. Rachel

    The proteges videos, they always make me laugh!

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    Hey from Texas!!!

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    i love science lives

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    hello from Nebraska!!

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    It is neat how the advancements in technology allow us to do what we are capable of doing today.

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  67. Trigg's

    thank y’all for putting this on.

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  68. Ashton

    this video was amazing,cant wait til next wednesday

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  69. Lola

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  70. Ella

    this Science Live was great; can’t wait till next Wednesday!

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    Science Live Rocks

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  78. Quinton

    I like to see all the comments about where people are from, I’m from Illinois.

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  79. Ray

    Hi from Japan. I did a cyber security class in Civil Air Patrol and I learned about DDoS attacks.

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  80. Victoria

    I think its cool how they got the integrated circuit to divide by three by using flip flop applications.

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  81. Cameron

    hello from mississippi

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  82. Melanie

    Hi! I love science so much. I always look forward to this video.

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    HELLOO FROM VIRGINIA

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    Am ready for Texas!

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    I love learning new things from science live!

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  90. Mackenzie

    hello from texas

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  91. Autumn

    These lives are always so informative.

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  92. Gaige

    “Don’t let division divide us…” LOL

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  93. Isabella

    Science is my favorite subject!!

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  94. Cyrus

    This video was really interesting, I really like the way that you explain things, it makes it really easy to understand. And, something so small can do something so cool!

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  95. Aubrey

    greetings from new york

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  96. Meli

    The stereo is what surprised me, I never thought that people back then only had mono audio.

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  97. Queen

    How have the IC counters impacted technology? More specifically, how has modern electronics, like clocks, calculators and cell phones, been influenced by IC counters? Fore example, do they process and handle information a certain way for the devices? For that matter, is this why we can easily do certain tasks on them, like checking the time or calculating equations?

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  98. Mason

    I really think Dr. Billings should write an autobiography. Science is cool, but sometimes hearing someone’s life story and how they became who they are is just as inspiring.

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  99. Dane

    From Kentucky

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    Hello from Georgia!

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  101. Carly

    My favorite part was the cowboy part! I learned so much from this! It was very entertaining! Hello from Alabama!

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  102. Kingston

    Wow! A cure for cancer would be amazing!

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    G’day from Wa.

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    Hello from Maine. These videos make me more interested in learning.

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    hi from texas

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  109. Ruben

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    Hello from Rhode Island!

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    How did you learn about all of these things? It’s interesting new bacteria is always being found. There is so much to learn every time I watch!

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  112. Kady

    This science live was amazing!

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  113. Kensley

    I love science live

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  114. Analuisa

    Omg I still cant stop laughing at the cowboy scene that is so funny and helpful

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  115. Lilly

    what else can gallium be used for? Can it help the environment

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  116. Kaydence

    Love science live!

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    I have starlink.

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  118. Kaden

    I enjoyed this session

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    I love this live for my birthday!!

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    I love science

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  121. Zeshawn

    Can you please make it so we can say more stuff to our classmates through the comments such as hello?

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    The cowboy scene was amazing

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    Hi from Gerogia! Thanks so much for this! It’s always so fun!

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    My favorite thing to watch on Wed. night. Thank you for this opportunity

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  127. Michael

    I learned so much about this science live, can’t wait for the next one.

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  128. Jeremy

    this was a very good video and i learned a lot.

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  129. Gracelynn

    This was awesome! I love science live!

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  130. Landyn

    What does water molecules mean?

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  131. Cali

    love tuning in to these lives after practice! makes me feel so refreshed 🙂

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    hello from ID!

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  133. Anna

    this is so fun to watch

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  134. Nicole

    That was a great episode, the cowboy part especially!

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    Hi from texas!

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  136. Teagan

    Science live made scientific things so much more interesting to me, it’s so cool!

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  137. Noah

    science is amazing, also hi from Indiana.

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  138. Haigan

    Hi everyone this video was so cool 😎

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  139. Aubree

    Very informative! I thoroughly enjoyed tonight’s Science Live! Thank you for providing these weekly!

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  140. Alexandros

    I’m amazed with them asking each other to divide with the Cowboy sense, it was wonderful!

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  141. Cally

    I loved this science live! It teaches me so much!

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  142. Max

    I liked learning about the calculators, but in the beginning you said something about a new invention that attacks cancer cells. Can we learn more about that?

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  143. Cocoa-chanel

    Great science live today enjoyed learning new things, and here from montana

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    Hi from Illinois!

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    Hi from Texas.

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    Hello from Xavier

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  147. Dillon

    hello from Wisconsin. Here’s to another great informative science live video!

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  148. Kagen

    I loved it where there is the machine in the wild west where the cowboys and I love how they’re the scientist and my favorite thing is the rockets sculpture

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  149. Jaafar

    Science is so cool

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  150. Patricia

    My mom’s vinyl record player sonds better than my headphones.

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  151. Layla

    I was so amazed how Dr. Joshua Talk about the different steps on how to plan your graduation and goals. You can do have after high school, this is something I would definitely keep in mind

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  152. Zion

    Will the alternative bacteria method replace certain types of cancer treatment? In other words, will the bacteria method be preferred over some popular treatments to handle cancer? For example, do we need to take in account some of the pros and cons of all of the above options? For that matter, will that lead to improvement in those treatments for higher effectiveness in treating cancer?

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  153. Carson

    In my opinion a potential meter in real life could be a very scary thing!

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  154. Alayna

    i really enjoyed the cowboy scene. watched from texas!

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  155. Jayden

    I enjoyed learning about how gallium melts at a little warmer then room temperature like around 86 degrees Fahrenheit.

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  156. Deniah

    Hi from Tampa/Florida

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  157. Hazel

    Hey from Texas!

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  159. Genevieve

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  162. Garrett

    Hi! I really enjoy every single Science Live and this one just might be one of my favorites! Cannot wait until next week for the next upcoming episode!

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  163. Ruby

    Ruby from Texas
    Bacteria is actually kinda cool!

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    I appreciated how they brought up Alan Blumlein, knowing that he was an engineer we can learn more about him.

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    the cowboy scene was cool to be honest!!!

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