Actress Hedy Lamarr Invented a “Secret Communications System”-Truth!
Summary of eRumor:
This is a forwarded email with a story about actress Hedy Lamarr. It alleged that she co-invented spread spectrum communications, the foundational basis to many wireless communications being used today.
The Truth:
Hedy Larmarr starred in many films, including Tortilla Flat, Lady of the Tropics, Boom Town, and Samson and Delilah. According to an article about the screen star on the Biography.com website, in 1942 Lamarr co-invented an early technique for spread spectrum communications with composer George Antheil.
The article said that during World War II Lamarr and Antheil developed a “Secret Communications System,” that used varying radiofrequencies to prevent the Nazis from decoding messages. They developed a concept called “frequency hopping” after a dinner party discussion about jamming radio controlled torpedoes.
The system eventually “became an important step in the development of technology to maintain the security of both military communications and cellular phones.”
posted 04/09/14