Science and sensuality, two facets of a persona. Imagine an actress so beautiful that her allure feels almost toxic, only to be enraptured the next moment by her stirring explanations of frequency, signals, and wireless technology. This was Hedy Lamarr, esteemed among the most beautiful women of her time, and equally a scientist at heart. The slightest quiver of her lips could inspire 'sins' in the minds of many.
There's a venerable list of achievements attributed to this actress that the world a century ago was barely prepared to accept. Hedy Lamarr was the first actress to film a female orgasm on the silver screen, a feat accomplished at the tender age of 18 in the 1933 film 'Ecstasy'.
The movie's notorious scene caused an uproar, branding it as "obscene and morally hazardous," "inappropriate, unethical, and sensual" by the Western press. Back then, America wasn't as we know it today. The film provoked conservatives, got censored, and was ultimately banned, with none other than the German dictator Hitler and Vatican's Pope imposing a veto on it.
Hollywood's Intoxicating Allure and the Equations of Science
But Hedy's alluring beauty wasn't confined to the glitter of Hollywood. There existed another realm, far from the spotlight, where Hedy delved into the world of scientific equations, experiments, and nature's secrets. Away from the camera's gaze, she fed her innovation and invention appetite. Post-shoot evenings were often spent unravelling complex conundrums.
Please pause here. If you're reading this article over Wi-Fi on your smartphone, you might thank Hedy Lamarr. She invented the technology that revolutionized communication—Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and mobile phones—altering the very fabric of the 21st century. The patent for this invention is registered in America under her name, patent number 2,292,387.
Naughty Submarines and the Struggling Allied Forces
During World War II, Nazi submarines wreaked havoc across the Atlantic Ocean, targeting American and British ships, including those carrying fleeing women and children from London's Nazi terror. German U-boats would often seal their fates at sea.
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Let's turn the pages to a 2018 documentary 'Bombshell' directed by American filmmaker Alexandra Dean, depicting wartime conditions and Lamarr's groundbreaking ideas that could pivot the war. The German army was thwarting attacks from the Allies as Nazi forces jammed or hacked their radio signals, which guided Allied torpedoes. When Allied forces launched torpedoes to attack Nazi submarines, the enemy army would intercept and redirect the torpedoes, causing the attack to fail.
Piano Keys Inspire a Breakthrough
In such dire times, actress Hedy Lamarr sat by a piano alongside Hollywood composer George Antheil—not to create music, but to conceptualize something that could alter the course of the war, laying the foundation for a 21st-century scientific temperament shift.
Hedy's genius led to creating a radio signal unhackable and unjammable, making torpedoes unstoppable in reaching their target. The key to this invention? Piano. Hedy, a pianist for five years, teamed up with George Antheil to realize that if leaps between notes on a piano can be synchronized harmoniously, then why couldn't a radio signal guiding a torpedo hop frequencies? And thus, the basis of a groundbreaking invention was formed.
How Frequency Hopping Prevented the Jamming and Hacking
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Rhodes, on Hedy's methodology, explains, "Her idea was that if the transmitter and the receiver simultaneously jumped from one frequency to another, a hacker/jammer wouldn't know where the signal was." In other words, by the time a hacker or jammer attempts to jam a frequency, the signal would have already leapt to another.
Laying the Groundwork for Wi-Fi
Hedy Lamarr named her discovery Frequency-Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS)—a secret medium of radio communication. Director Alexandra Dean says frequency hopping is used in our wireless communication today. Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and military communications exemplify this technology. Hedy gifted her patent to the U.S. government.
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However, Hedy's scientific temperament clashed with the American Navy's ego. When she presented her invention to Navy generals, their response was derisive, asking if she meant torpedoes should carry a piano? They dismissed her work into obscurity, suggesting that her place was in fundraising for the war, not inventing.
Hedy Lamarr went on to live a secluded life, moving away from fame, yet her spark of invention lit up the corridors of wireless communication forever. While no longer with us, her legacy flickers in the billions of devices connected by the very technologies she helped pioneer.
