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. Quynn

    technology is amazing. To think how in1930’s at a movie theater it was being worked for mono and stereo sound and to see what kind of sound we have going to a theater now to watch a movie

    Reply
  2. Matthew

    gallium is cool

    Reply
  3. Znida

    from NM loooved it. sat and watched it with my daughter!

    Reply
  4. Afrah

    Hi. Dr. B I learned today circuits and dividing . Thank you

    Ay

    Reply
  5. Xavier

    So good to know!! It was really cool learning about how Fantasia was the first movie with improved sound.

    Reply
  6. Quinn

    i love the protoges!

    Reply
  7. Braylan

    Science is my favorite subject

    Reply
  8. Lailani

    We look forward to Science Live every week.

    Reply
  9. Ruby

    Watching from Cambodia.

    Reply
  10. Fallon

    Comment I enjoyed the cowboy math!

    Reply
  11. Cadynce

    I look forward to this live every wednesday!

    Reply
  12. Cody

    Who programs R-51?

    Reply
  13. Tobias

    Thank you for another great Science Live!

    Reply
  14. Pacey

    Hello from Arkansas!

    Reply
  15. Silas

    I’m really glad they made a breakthrough with dealing with cancer! That’s going to be great for those people.

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  16. Randilyn

    I like watching science live.

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  17. Ray

    Science live is so awesome!

    Reply
  18. Iyanna

    I like learning about the rockets!

    Reply
  19. Moriyah

    protégés are always so funny with the inventionears sorry if I spelled it wrong hehe 😜

    Reply
  20. Pamela

    This video was so interesting. Can’t wait for next weeks video.

    Reply
  21. Grace

    I LOVE SCIENCE LIVE!!!!

    Reply
  22. Melani

    I love this video so much i learned a lot

    Reply
  23. Ava

    Thank you for another great episode of Science Live.

    Reply
  24. Annabell

    Science live was great tonight!

    Reply
  25. Bentley

    Thank you for another amazing science live.

    Reply
  26. Ian

    Can I be scanned next😂

    Reply
  27. Charisz

    Learning about Audio, Mono and Stereo was amazing!! i’ve been to a movie theatre twice and i love the effects by just listening with my two ears!

    Reply
  28. Jayden

    Great show this week, great secret weapon.

    Reply
  29. Norman

    I love the videos!!

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  30. Elli'yahna

    This was awesome! Loved it so much!!

    Reply
  31. Aubree

    My favorite part of today’s science live was definitely the part about gallium!

    Reply
  32. Christian

    I love learning new things when watching the science live!

    Reply
  33. Malcolm

    I thought it was funny and cool about the cowboy part.

    Reply
  34. Karter

    I CAN USE IC TO DIVIED BY 3S AND ALL THE WAY UP TO 9

    Reply
  35. Jamiee

    This Science Live was so fun! My favorite part was probably when the two characters Dusty Dave and Crusty Cal came on screen, that part was educational and funny!

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  36. Ava

    Love it so much!

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  37. Isabella

    I love the science lives!!

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  38. Dejah

    This is my fourth science live and it was AmAzInG! I really enjoyed the part with the protégés.

    Reply
  39. Ava

    This was my favorite video of the year so far! Thank you!

    Reply
  40. Liam

    Hello, watching from West Virginia

    Reply
  41. Bentley

    R51 is my all time favorite!

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  42. Alexis

    I love this science live

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  43. Justin

    Learning about the circuits was interesting. Great live.

    Reply
  44. Aaralynn

    Hey from Nevada!!

    Reply
  45. Kaylee

    Science is so much fun

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  46. Shane

    watching from MD

    Reply
  47. Emanuel

    I found the section on the two track vinyl disks really interesting about how old record players could still play the stereo track normally.

    Reply
  48. Axel

    Wow! That was so interesting.

    Reply
  49. Sofia

    Hi from Mississippi!

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  50. Blayke

    Hello from Texas!

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  51. Autumn

    Hello this is autumn from Chicago Illinois, and the rocket presentation was amazing and very interesting to look at.

    Reply
  52. Amie

    WOW SCIENCE LIVE TODAY WAS AMAZING!!

    Reply
  53. Madison

    The cowboy skit was very funny! And I actually learned a lot about circuit boards!

    Reply
  54. Gavin

    That was a great Science Live

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  55. Gabriella

    From here in Vegas we get to see SpaceX in the sky sometimes.

    Reply
  56. Jeffrey

    I love the stories

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  57. Season

    I love science live

    Reply
  58. Cash

    hi from texas

    Reply
  59. Hannah

    Very funny, love it!

    Reply
  60. Kennedy

    The cowboys were so funny!
    The stereo sound segment was very interesting.

    Reply
  61. Sawyer

    I love Science Live

    Reply
  62. Weston

    i love this show

    Reply
  63. Hadlie

    hi from kentucky

    Reply
  64. Bella

    If this new bacteria ends up being the cure for cancer, that would be amazing.

    Reply
  65. Zera

    Loved tonight science live

    Reply
  66. Tristan

    Hi from Mississippi.

    Reply
  67. Shane

    Looking forward to next weeks Science Live.

    Reply
  68. Ryder

    I wonder how much resisters you would need for an Integrated Circuit

    Reply
  69. Oaklee

    I love science live

    Reply
  70. Bella

    Love it so much!!!!

    Reply
  71. Kayden

    R51 is so nice! Can’t wait for Accellus World!

    Reply
  72. Lexi

    Hi from IL

    Reply
  73. Christopher

    hello from tennessee

    Reply
  74. Luis

    I love r51

    Reply
  75. Devin

    I liked the part with the graduation checklist!

    Reply
  76. Sergio

    My favorite episode so far

    Reply
  77. Aleeyah

    Caleb and David are so funny! They should make them teachers!

    Reply
  78. Reina

    I love science and this was fun

    Reply
  79. Khloe

    I want to go to the moon!

    Reply
  80. Jasim

    I like that Allen Blumlein wanted to make movies sound more realistic. So he used stereo sound to making so that if a character is on the left side of the screen it will sound louder on the left and quieter on the right.

    Reply
  81. Jaden

    Love watching these every week!

    Reply
  82. Bryson

    Blumlei was a brilliant English electronics engineer He invented many important things in areas like sound recording, stereo sound, television, and radar He held 128 patents, which are like official papers for inventions.

    Reply
  83. Lainey

    Tonight’s live was funny!!

    Reply
  84. Mavric

    hi from new london science rules

    Reply
  85. Wolfe

    The part about dividing was interesting

    Reply
  86. Maddy

    The part about the cancer eating bacteria was very cool.

    Reply
  87. Alyx

    Great show as always. Look forward to the new class.

    Reply
  88. Rain

    I LOVE learning about technology. Can’t wait to see more next week!

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  89. Dominic

    Hi from ND

    Reply
  90. Adelaide

    I like those songs where they go to one ear to another they’re cool.

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  91. Mason

    I love science live!

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  92. Malia

    Stereos are so interesting!

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  93. Gracie

    I loved the video this week!

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  94. Sarah

    Always learn something new

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  95. Casey

    Hello from GA!!!!

    Reply
  96. Zander

    I love science lives

    Reply
  97. Aiden

    Acellus is full of surprises!

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  98. Otto

    We needed a girl in the inventioneers for sure

    Reply
  99. Caden

    I love this episode!

    Reply
  100. Gabriel

    Hello from GA!

    Reply
  101. Justin

    I found the Wild West Division Show Down bit very funny. I knew Claudia was going to say something about not having the ic’s.

    Reply
  102. Ezra

    Hey from Louisiana

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  103. Anastasia

    Hello from VA

    Reply
  104. Zahdyn

    I love science live it was fun today

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  105. Isidore

    Enjoyed seeing how different electric parts work together in science live.

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  106. Lynnzee

    Hi from tennessee

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  107. Joao

    this episode was amazing!!!!!!!

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  108. Kaylie

    I love these lives!

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  109. Mila

    What a great science live!

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  110. James

    Hello from the east coast

    Reply
  111. Scarlett

    Hi from Texas!

    Reply
  112. Jaden

    Amazing math in this week broadcast

    Reply
  113. Kaitlin

    Loved the Wild West theme!

    Reply
  114. Kinzley

    Hello! From Kinzley in Texas.

    Reply
  115. April

    Here from Egypt

    Reply
  116. Owen

    Hi from Texas

    Reply
  117. Mirabelle

    this is my favorite episode of science live! 😀

    Reply
  118. Melody

    I can’t with these mathematical cowboys 😂🤣😭

    Reply
  119. Roman

    THIS WAS AWESOME

    Reply
  120. Preston

    Hey, from Chicago

    Reply
  121. Jaden

    Amazing math in this weeks video

    Reply
  122. Adriel

    here from Missouri

    Reply
  123. Genevieve

    I was not expecting R-51 to get a potentiometer, where would he have even found that?- XD

    Reply
  124. Kai

    I love science live!

    Reply
    • Genesis

      I like this science live alot so fun to watch

      Reply
  125. Kathryn

    Here from NJ

    Reply
  126. Lynzie

    Dr B and Ms Pajet Monet, I would like to know if making an eraser pen would be worth my science project. A eraser pen is a very special kind of eraser in a pen shape tube. This eraser can erase all things such as: Ink, led, marker, and other types of writing items
    I have been on Acellus for over 4 years and my favorite part is Wednesday science live. Can you please answer my question on live for me please. Love Lynzie

    Ps. Ms p is my favorite teacher and she has helped me through so much.
    Ty so much for all the support

    Reply
  127. Quinn

    I love science live a lot!

    Reply
    • Aubree

      the binary decade is cool

      Reply
    • Eliam

      Hi from NJ!

      Reply
  128. Lincoln

    Watching from GA

    Reply
    • Riley

      Science Live always has something new each week, which keeps things interesting!

      Reply
    • Britney

      Learning more about the decade counter was great and also how to build one and have it divide up to 9 was very interesting and informative! The proteges are so funny. Thank you for this live!

      Reply
  129. Katelyn

    Love the electrical stuff. My dad has an electrician license.

    Reply
  130. Mckinzie

    I always learn something new.

    Reply
  131. Valerie

    Hi from Ct!

    Reply
    • Bentley

      such an exciting episode can’t wait for episode 300!!!See you all next week

      Reply
  132. Mary

    This science live was so good!!

    Reply
  133. Joshua

    Hi from Arkansas!!!

    Reply
  134. Charles

    Here from Texas.

    Reply
    • Sophia

      The human brain is amazing

      Reply
  135. Tyler

    This is so fun learning about binary decade counters

    Reply
  136. Maddison

    Thanks for putting this on I loved it.

    Reply
  137. Itai

    hi from Virginia

    Reply
  138. Shekar

    hey from texas!

    Reply
    • Gracie

      Hello from Texas as well👋👋

      Reply
  139. Sabastion

    thank you for the lesson

    Reply
  140. Ella

    Pajet looked really good in the cowboy hat, and I have to say all the country stuff was pretty funny.

    Reply
  141. Liliya

    hi from montana

    Reply
  142. Trinity

    R51 you have to use a division symbol

    Reply
  143. Chloe

    I liked the cowboy theam it was fun and creative and i like that blend alot!

    Reply
  144. Rachel

    hii from Florida!

    Reply
  145. Latasha

    Will R51 be teaching classes soon?

    Reply
  146. Wyatt

    It was amazing Thanks for putting it on

    Reply
  147. Emily

    The cowboys were so funny!

    Reply
    • Farrah

      R51 is so funny.

      Reply
  148. James

    if the cancer killing bacteria was created earlier techno blade would be alive

    Reply
  149. Remington

    hello, from Decatur iL

    Reply
  150. Joshua

    funny live i enjoyed this!

    Reply
  151. Mckenzie

    Hello from SC- I love Science Live! The inventioneers tonight! Math Mountain is great! I look forward to Science Live every week!!

    Reply
  152. Parker

    The stereo sound segment was very interesting.

    Reply
  153. Tobias

    I wanna know a lot more about diffrent conducters!

    Reply
  154. Shaniya

    Happy science live. Have a good night everyone.

    Reply
  155. Nicholas

    Hi from Mexico

    Reply
  156. Milana

    Science is so cool!

    Reply
  157. Esperanza

    Today went by very quickly.

    Reply
  158. Bentley

    I use potentiometers within my guitar builds.

    Reply
  159. Grace

    hi from texas

    Reply
  160. Ava

    From CHICAGO!!

    Reply
  161. Olivier

    I liked learning about the resistors and potentiometers.

    Reply
  162. Faye-lynn

    AREA 51 WOO WE LOVE YOU

    Reply
  163. Brantley

    Hello from Tx

    Reply
  164. Jayla

    Thank you for another amazing science live!!!

    Reply
  165. Tyler

    Hello, from Illinois.

    Reply
  166. Logan

    Way to go Kaleb and David!!

    Reply
  167. Michael

    I love R51, He is so funny.

    Reply
  168. Lacy

    Thank you for this fun and educational video!!!

    Reply
  169. Derek

    Hi from Illinois!

    Reply
  170. Miguel

    AHH, BIG R!

    Reply
  171. Mattie

    awesome stuff! can’t wait to learn more next week!

    Reply
  172. Reagan

    Awesome video!

    Reply
  173. Raylynn

    this is so cool like pretty much make shift calculators but in different form

    Reply
  174. Nehemiah

    I like the guy in area 51 he is funny

    Reply
  175. Dean

    It is awesome that gallium can make hydrogen. I didn’t know that was how stereo was made. I didn’t know the brain could unscramble images.

    Reply

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