Thus, it would seem almost strange that one of the most famous 1940’s starlets is the co-inventor of a technique used in modern day wireless communications.
Hedy Lemarr, together with her composer friend, George Antheil, were both avid amateur scientists and during WW2 discussed the fact that radio controlled Allied torpedoes were easily being jammed by the Germans when they injected interference into the controlling signal between the ship and the torpedo. This interference caused the torpedoes to go off course, effectively rendering them useless.
Using their knowledge about musical frequencies, the pair devised a method that would allow the controlling signal to be sent as bursts of information sent over specifically chosen different frequencies. The concept, called frequency hopping, was patented by the pair and presented to the US Navy, but was only taken up by the US military in 1962 during the Cuban missile crisis.
The concept forms the basis for modern day Spread-spectrum technology used in Bluetooth, WiFi and some cordless phones communication systems.
It just goes to prove that not all actresses are just pretty faces.
