The Invention That Became a Sensation
If it weren’t for Hedy Lamarr and George Anthiel, the world today may not have bluetooth, GPS, and wireless internet. After much discussing and experimenting, Lamarr and Anthiel came up with a radio-controlled torpedo that could be used in the war to intercept by broadcasting a particular interference at the signal’s frequency control. This was designed to ultimately throw the torpedo off course which in turn helped to counter the Nazis. The basis for this experiment is what is known today as modern spread-spectrum communication technology. It is the idea behind bluetooth, GPS, and wireless internet. The EE Times gives a detailed tutorial on spread spectrum technology by explaining the step-by-step process of the technology. According to the article, the spread spectrum “uses wideband, noise-like signals that are hard to detect, intercept, or demodulate” (Prabakaran). Below is a graph of one of the original layouts of the many different components needed to make it work.
Hedy Lamar’s Spreadsheet. (Greenfield)
This invention formed almost an unbreakable code that prevented classified information and messages from being interpreted by the enemy. Lamarr learned everything she needed to know about torpedoes from her first husband, Mandl, and she used this knowledge to help design this invention. With Anthiel’s help, they used eighty-eight piano keys to keep the signals changing within the range of eighty-eight frequencies. By using this essential tool, they were able to keep the frequency hopping (Hedy Lamarr).
Initially, Lamarr’s idea for the design was to throw off the Nazis but it wasn’t until 1942 that the patent was granted. Because the frequency hopping they created was not accepted by the United States Navy around that time, it was in 1962 that the military used it for a Cuban blockade after the patent had already expired. “I can’t understand why there’s no acknowledgement when it’s used all over the world. Never a letter, never a thank you, never money. I don’t know. I guess they just take and forget about a person,” said Lamarr in a 1990 interview (Chan). Eventually the two were acknowledged for their work. The Electronic Frontier Foundation honored the invention in 1997 by giving Lamarr credit for it although it wasn’t until later down the road. Lamarr and Anthiel were given the Pioneer Award and not long after, Lamarr became the first female recipient of the BULBIE Gnass Spirit of Achievement Award (Fitzgerald). This award is given out to those who accomplish big inventions. When given this award, the winner is given “The Oscar of Inventing”. Lamarr did not just stop there, though. She showed interest in wanting to the join the National Inventors Council. The Council let her know that her skills would be put to better use if she were to use her celebrity status for selling war bonds (Fitzgerald).
Lamarr was so much more then just a pretty face in Hollywood. She proved to the world that women can be inventors just as much as men. By earning a place among the twentieth century’s most important women inventors, Lamarr shattered the world’s take on stereotypes. Her dashing good looks made her a star and her intellectual insight on technology drove her to help design an invention that would go down in history. One of her famous quotes is when she says, “Any girl can be glamorous. All you have to do is stand still and look stupid” (Hedy Lamarr at Reel Classics). Throughout her life, though, it is obvious that she didn’t listen to her own words. She chose to be a light for women in technology by using her knowledge which was far ahead of its time.
