It was a Hollywood star! Austrian Hedy Lamarr (1913 – 2000), who starred in films such as Samson and Delilah (1949) and The History of Humanity (1957), created the base technology for the global positioning system (GPS) during World War II. Of Jewish origin, Hedy was horrified by the Nazi advance and wanted to help the US and its allies. She had learned about radio communication thanks to living in Austria with her ex-husband, Fritz Mandl, a wealthy weapons manufacturer, and his fellow engineers. But the actress only made her scientific contribution when she had already divorced Mandl and fled to the USA. And this is not her only invention. She also came up with a fluorescent dog collar and a bathing device for the disabled. Unfortunately, at that time, no one took her “Professor Sparrow” side seriously. “My face was my downfall,” said Hedy.
nerd diva
Actress was inspired by the sound of the piano to come up with her greatest invention
musical inspiration
In 1940, Hedy Lamarr met the composer George Antheil, another one curious about science. One night when they were playing the piano, she realized that each key emitted a different long-range frequency. And, just as they alternated rapidly in a song, perhaps something similar could be applied in the spectrums of military communication.
Zigzag
Improved by Antheil, Lamarr’s analysis originated the «frequency hopping» system, in which radio communication stations were programmed to change sign 88 times in a row (the same amount of keys on a piano). Enemy forces would have a hard time detecting this alternating log, which could be used by ships and planes to guide torpedoes.
late success
The duo even patented the idea and offered it to the US Navy, but it was too expensive for the time. Eventually, it lost military exclusivity and became the basis of many current technologies. It is applied, for example, in guidance satellites for civil means of transport – the famous GPS (Global Positioning System). It’s also on wifi and bluetooth.
Sources imdbHedy Lamarr Foundation and NASA. Consultancy Anthony John Loder, son of Hedy Lamar, and Eduardo Tude, pioneer in the development of satellites for the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) and president of the telecommunications consultancy Teleco
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