The Collision Problem That Crippled Ethernet (And How We Solved It)

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Ever wonder how computers actually talk to each other over a wire? In this episode of ScienceLive, we break it all down — starting with the earliest Ethernet networks running over coaxial cable, through the switch to Cat5 cabling, and into the fundamental building block of all network communication: the packet.

You’ll learn what packets are, how they carry your data across a network, and why early Ethernet had a serious flaw — data collisions that could bring an entire network to its knees. We explain why collisions happen and what they mean for the data you’re trying to send.

Then comes the part we’re most excited about: how my team and I discovered a solution to stop packet collisions entirely, leading to the invention of WideBand networking. In this episode we give you the teaser — next week, we’ll teach you exactly how it works.

This lesson is for anyone who wants to truly understand computer networking from the ground up — how Ethernet came about, how it works, and where it’s headed.

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 ā€œDrBā€ 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 ā€œgive backā€ by mentoring students in conjunction with the Roger Billings Scholarship Program.


Read more about DrB » 
About the Roger Billings Scholarship Program Ā»

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2,990 Comments

  1. Aleika

    I love this live!!! It’s made me love science even more !

    Reply
  2. Maile

    Very interesting! Mr. Billings is an incredible person. I like to hear his stories. I love Science Live and Acellus

    Reply
  3. Collin

    10/10

    Reply
  4. Destinee

    Acellus just knows how to make these lives better and better every Wednesday.

    Reply
  5. Sandra

    I love being an Acellus Academy Student.

    Reply
  6. Dieson

    Great episode, the Ethernet cable is an epic invention, and the circuit Dr. john and his crew created sounds like an awesome protype to use for collision problems.

    Reply
  7. Kynlee

    I’m curious how many of the boards had to be soldered by hand back then.

    Reply
  8. Zeshawn

    This was very interesting, I had never heard of ethernet until now.

    Reply
  9. Jaxsyn

    I am so glad that they found away to make everything much faster then what it is back in the old days.

    Reply
  10. Raylon

    The Ethernet is awesome and this science live is awesome!

    Reply
  11. Lily

    Awesome video! I never knew what the ethernet was, outsides of a computer term, and this improved my understanding. Can’t wait for the next one!

    Reply
  12. Keanu

    The internet was probably one of the best inventions ever made!

    Reply
  13. Aksel

    Hello from Montana, this science l!ve is very great and I enjoy Acellus home school when they make an science l!ve.

    Reply
  14. Erynn

    The progress they made sounds like they climbed mountains. Very thankful to those who had the vision and put that vision into motion.

    Reply
  15. Jeremiah

    I am looking forward to coming to Acellus world.

    Reply
  16. Aria

    I just plugged one of those cables into our wifi today!

    Reply
  17. Bryden

    This was another great Science Live, thank you so much.

    Reply
  18. Cecilia

    I really enjoy hearing the stories of Mr. Billings inventions and how he’s worked with other people, like Ron Crane, to create the technology that we use every day.

    Reply
  19. Yasin

    No way, what’s R-51 doing there?

    Reply
  20. Aiden

    Maybe R51 will come to Maryland

    Reply
  21. Gwendolyn

    This is so cool!

    Reply
    • Oskar

      I like how I can rewatch the live later or if I miss it I can, thank you for doing this on youtube!

      Reply
  22. Logan

    Good science live tonight.

    Reply
  23. Joseph

    Hello from NY!

    Reply
  24. Blake

    Hello from Massachusetts!

    Reply
    • Saigon

      So amazing how he built it by scratch!

      Reply
  25. Khloe

    Why does gigabit Ethernet make video streaming faster than regular Ethernet?

    Reply
  26. Briella

    This was great!!

    Reply
  27. Isidore

    Networking technology is very interesting.

    Reply
  28. Vanessa

    this is super fun

    Reply
  29. David

    I love scene live and I love inventing

    Reply
  30. Brayden

    I love Sciencelive

    Reply
  31. Ashton

    Science Live Is Fun.l

    Reply
  32. Hannah

    Hi from Texas!!

    Reply
  33. Issac

    issac from MD

    Reply
  34. Naylynn

    The Ethernet is very interesting, and I would have never known about it if it was not covered here.

    Reply
  35. Jacob

    Awesome episode!

    Reply
    • Delilah

      I really appreciate the diagrams that are included in these lessons. They help me understand these topics so much easier.

      Reply
  36. Itai

    Love it

    Reply
  37. Athena

    When were cables first invented?

    Reply
  38. Zoey

    I think its really cool that you brought up Coax cable because I am a licensed Amateur Radio operator and we tend to use coaxial cable to connect an antenna to a base station. I also hope R-51 comes back soon, he’s definitely the life of the party on science live!

    Reply
  39. Rylee

    Love these videos

    Reply
  40. Christopher

    Hi from Chicago

    Reply
  41. Wesley

    hi from Connecticut

    Reply
  42. Huzaifah

    LOVE THIS VIDEO ..

    VERY INFORMATIVE

    Reply
  43. Ashtin

    Very interesting

    Reply
  44. Penelope

    Hi from South Carolina! !

    Reply
  45. Emily

    so fun !

    Reply
  46. Calvin

    I didn’t realize collisions could be avoided with ethernet. :o)

    Reply
  47. Emma

    I learned a lot from this science live.

    Reply
  48. Brennan

    love the baseball part

    Reply
  49. Kyla

    SAYING GOOD EVENING FROM OREGON

    Reply
  50. Nyia

    hello from VA! Do you think there are more things that can be done with the already existing ethernet technology?

    Reply
  51. Noah

    Wow! Ethernet sounds really cool!

    Reply
  52. Bailie

    i have ethernet!

    Reply
  53. Penelope

    Hi from South Carolina!!

    Reply
  54. Justin

    Wow that’s both really cool and crazy how it was once believed that streaming a video wasn’t even possible.

    Reply
  55. Breanna

    I love science live

    Reply
  56. Logan

    Awesome Science Live

    Reply
    • Shalym

      Hi from the Caribbean

      Reply
  57. Harlan

    Hi From Kentucky

    Reply
  58. Andrew

    Great episode tonight! Watching from Florida!

    Reply
  59. Siva

    hi from va

    Reply
  60. Aaron

    hello this is Aaron from Arkansas!! I learned so much from this first science live! My whole family watched it with me!!

    Reply
    • Sciencelive

      Happy Wednesday Aaron and family!! So glad to have you all here!

      Reply
  61. Elijah

    I learned about Ron Crane.

    Reply
  62. Mossaab

    So glad to this episode.

    Reply
  63. Savannah

    Hey this is Savannah from Texas and i love acellus

    Reply
  64. Evelyn

    Ethernet is so cool.

    Reply
  65. Savannah

    Hi from Arkansas!

    Reply
  66. Gillian

    Again, best of luck to everyone in the science fair!

    Reply
    • Sciencelive

      So excited to see all of our entries! Tune in at Acellus World to see our winners!!

      Reply
  67. Dahlia

    Tennessee here! absolutely love acellus!

    Reply
  68. Paila

    I’m so excited to learn!!!

    Reply
  69. Saarah

    Hi from NY, this is such a cool concept!

    Reply
  70. Lilly

    Awesome video today. I loved it so much!!!!šŸ¦‹šŸ¦‹šŸ¦‹šŸ¦‹šŸ¦‹šŸ¦‹šŸ’œšŸ’™ā¤ā¤šŸ’œšŸ’–šŸ’—šŸ’˜šŸ’›šŸ’ššŸ’“šŸ˜šŸ¤šŸ§”šŸ–¤šŸ˜»šŸ’žšŸ’•ā™„

    Reply
    • Sciencelive

      Thanks for tuning in Lilly!! šŸ”¬šŸ’™

      Reply
  71. Romina

    Hello from Florida!

    Reply
  72. Aaliyah

    Hi From Texas. Love Science Live!

    Reply
  73. Eman

    Hi from sc

    Reply
  74. Miguel

    Hi from Maryland and happy Wednesday everyone!

    Reply
  75. Lyla

    Hello from Florida!

    Reply
  76. Hazel

    happy science live day!

    Reply
  77. William

    I have ethernet myself and it makes my wifi way faster.

    Reply
  78. Joey

    hey from texas

    Reply
  79. Skyler

    would you solve it the same way if it happened again?

    Reply
  80. Cooper

    I learn so much from this videos

    Reply
  81. Lainey

    love this!

    Reply
  82. Brantley

    Does fiber optic cable suffer from the same data collision issues as ethernet or coaxial cable?

    Reply
  83. Cooper

    Good evening from FL!

    Reply
  84. Noa

    Oh i’ve seen wires like that in my house and my grandpa was a engineer.

    Reply
  85. Regan

    excited to learn something in science live today

    Reply
  86. Adria

    hi from Ecuador!!

    Reply
  87. Olivia

    How can 1 billion bits per second work?!🤯

    Reply
  88. Max

    Hope everyone had a great holiday! Loved learning about Ethernet and how how it helps our technology.

    Reply
  89. Paz

    Science live is always so cool!

    Reply
  90. Charlie

    hello from omaha nebraska

    Reply
  91. Karlee

    love the videos!

    Reply
  92. Addison

    Do you think there is room for improvement for the ethernet?

    Reply
  93. Jade

    i like how they brought people who worked on ethernet i think that’s cool

    Reply
  94. Penelope

    This was very interesting! Thank you!

    Reply
  95. Enoch

    hello from texas

    Reply
  96. Ava

    hi from MN

    Reply
  97. Eli

    I never knew that’s how they did it

    Reply
  98. Axton

    Ethernet having 100 computers at the start to where we are now is bananas!

    Reply
  99. Alden

    hi from florda i love lives

    Reply
  100. Tucker

    I love you so much!

    Reply
  101. Diego

    Hii from Panama

    Reply
    • Sciencelive

      Hello Diego! Welcome, we are so happy to have you with us! šŸ”¬

      Reply
  102. Mark

    Awesome!

    Reply
  103. Genevieve

    This is so cool, though! I don’t think I’ve ever heard of Ethernet before this! :0

    Reply
  104. Eliana

    Ethernet had lots of accidents before they fixed them and that’s cool. Area-51 was funny of course.

    Reply
    • Sciencelive

      R-51 always has something in store for us šŸ˜‰

      Reply
  105. Sunnove

    I always love the personification of computers talking to each other!

    Reply
  106. Brealea

    This was so interesting I loved it

    Reply
  107. Benjamin

    As a kid using pc, ethernet is really important science live is so fun!

    Reply
  108. Madison

    How could he ever build something like that from scrach? Its amazing!!

    Reply
  109. Blake

    hi from colrado

    Reply
  110. Charli

    Hey from nc! great live tonight!

    Reply
  111. Ben

    Hello from Texas!

    Reply
  112. Lily

    Hello from Indiana

    Reply
  113. Dean

    This is so cool. I love science live. Quick question, where is Cody from the inventineers club I have’nt seen him in a while.

    Reply
    • Sciencelive

      Hello Dean, thank you for watching! The Inventioneers & ProtĆ©gĆ©s will be back next week with more shenanigans šŸ˜‰

      Reply
  114. Deepak

    I love science live

    Reply
  115. Sophia

    Great show!

    Reply
  116. Connor

    goooood job prodojs

    Reply
  117. Samuel

    love this live!!

    Reply
  118. Insha

    Hi from NC!!!

    Reply
  119. Justice

    this is fun

    Reply
  120. Gavin

    think this might be one of my fovorite

    Reply
  121. Ryder

    Hi from NC

    Reply
  122. Delaney

    Great science live!

    Reply
  123. Kekoa

    i like the video because it is cool

    Reply
  124. Jahkaveon

    Hi from St Louis

    Reply
  125. Sophia

    Hello from Montana! Great live!!

    Reply
  126. Declan

    So interesting to learn more about computer networks!

    Reply
  127. Rory

    Technology can be really amazing!!

    Reply
  128. Bentley

    Thank you for another amazing science live.

    Reply
  129. Eli

    Saying hi from Louisiana!

    Reply
  130. Viviana

    I enjoyed this live.

    Reply
  131. Ian

    Hi From New York

    Reply
  132. Kelen

    I’m glad that they figured out how to get computers to talk to each other.

    Reply
  133. Kellis

    Hi from NC!

    Reply
  134. Riley

    Ethernet is a really great thing

    Reply
  135. Prestyn

    Hi, i’m excited for todays episode!!

    Reply
  136. Zayda

    It’s incredible how Ron Crane got into M.I.T College and Stanford University! It’s also very interesting how he joined the Xerox company in 1974!

    Reply
  137. Rozalia

    the board was really intresting to me. thank you!

    Reply
  138. Lillie

    i love science

    Reply
  139. Ashlyn

    I love science live!

    Reply
  140. Jennifer

    Hi from Mexico!! Love science live Wednesday .

    Reply
  141. Drako

    This was so helpful.

    Reply
  142. Camila

    Always love these! This video is a great look back at the ingenuity required to make Ethernet the standard it is today. The collision problem was a real hurdle, and it’s amazing to see how it was solved!

    Reply
  143. Elaine

    Acellus and Science Live is great!

    Reply
  144. Jailore

    This is such a cool topic! How did the engineers at Xerox decide between the 4 twisted cables and the star set-up after moving on from the straight line?

    Reply
  145. Edward

    Im really loving this

    Reply
  146. Garrett

    The Ethernet is so complicated.

    Reply
  147. Aubrey

    Love the live!

    Reply
  148. Hazel

    never heard about ethernet before, learning about it was so cool

    Reply
  149. Nivedita

    It would have been really fun and interesting to be one of the people who would hand soder the circuit boards together!

    Reply
  150. James

    early Ethernet had so many accidents before they were fixed.Amazing!

    Reply
  151. Rebecca

    Hello from Florida! šŸ™‚

    Reply
  152. Quynh

    fun live

    Reply
  153. Auriel

    I never really thought about the ethernet being like a rats nest, but it kind of makes sense in a way oddly enough. The Ethernet is pretty complex when debugging it or checking for anything in general. Same with ethernet cords, most of the time when you see the cords they are almost always jumbled up in other cords.

    Reply
  154. Riley

    Hello from Florida

    Reply
  155. Brooklyn

    Hi from Alabama

    Reply
  156. Jade

    ethernet went through a lot before it was fixed

    Reply
  157. Jude

    How long does it take to fix an Ethernet collisions?

    Reply
  158. Aaden

    It was the miss click, cool I can’t believe so many people want to steal your ideas! You’re cool

    Reply
  159. Millicent

    Hello from texas

    Reply
  160. Keaton

    hi from sc

    Reply
  161. Kaydence

    Loved this!!!!

    Reply
  162. Benjamin

    Hello from GA

    Reply

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