In the late 1930s, our world was pulled into the miserable, fiery depths of war when Nazi Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland. Though the West was still recovering from the aftermath of the “Great War” (aska World War I), there was no choice. They had to stop Hitler’s plans for world domination before it was too late.
How did we get here?
Germany was transformed under the Third Reich. Living in the wake of catastrophic economic consequences from World War I, the German people were looking for a scapegoat—someone to take the blame for their sufferings. Hitler’s regime gave them one in the Jews. Anti-Semitism wasn’t new to Europe and, when coupled with the burgeoning communist sentiments of punishing the rich and successful, many Germans readily accepted Hitler’s horrifying premise. It was a tragic thing to behold. And it all unfolded before the eyes of a young Austrian Jewish woman named Hedy.
| Fun Fact: It took Germany 92 YEARS to finish paying off their debt from World War I. The last payment was made on October 3, 2010. |
After Hedy found her way out of Europe and into Hollywood, she realized that she could be doing so much more to help the American cause in the war. Her beauty and fame were useful in influencing the public to support the war effort, but nothing could match the value of her mind. Despite having few opportunities to show it, Hedy was a genius. So, when she heard that U.S. submarines were having difficulties with the guidance systems on their torpedoes, she went to work—partnering with the technologically savvy pianist, George Antheil. The dynamic duo hypothesized, worked, tested, and worked some more until they invented frequency hopping.
What did frequency hopping do, exactly? And how was it going to be useful naval combat? At the time, torpedoes were guided using a single radio-controlled frequency once launched at a target. Unfortunately, the frequency could be intercepted, disrupted, jammed, or avoided, significantly lessening the effectiveness of any strategy that included launching torpedoes at Nazi U-boats. It was a major issue, especially considering they were fighting a flotilla of submarines.
Frequency hopping would still direct the torpedo with radio frequencies, but the frequency would change at split second intervals. With frequencies changing so rapidly, the Nazis wouldn’t be able to intercept them and avoid them. Nor would they be able to jam them. While the frequency hopped around, any attempts to jam the bunny of torpedo direction would require matching the intervals precisely. Without an exact match, only small bits of the message would be disrupted, leaving the frequency’s overall direction relatively unaffected.
They had the theory. Now they just needed the hardware: a new receiver for the torpedoes. It was George Antheil’s expertise with mechanical pianos that inspired the physical creation of their new device,
“The invention used slotted paper rolls similar to player piano rolls to synchronize the frequency changes in transmitter and receiver, and it even called for exactly eighty-eight frequencies, the same amount of keys on a piano.” (Braun 2020).
In 1941, Hedy and George submitted their invention to the National Inventors Council, an organization which lasted from 1940 until 1974. The head of the council at the time, Charles Kettering, was so excited by the project that he proposed the duo patent it. On June 10, 1941 a patent application for the “Secret Communication System” was submitted, and was later awarded on August 11, 1942.
With a new patent in their pockets, the inventive pair was excited to begin working with the military on implementation. Sadly, the military was less keen. Why? Since the mechanism design was similar to piano player rolls, the military couldn’t move past the idea that the mechanism was too large (needing to be the size of a real piano player roll) to fit in the torpedo. This, coupled with a number of past failed attempts at improving torpedo guidance technology, halted the progress Hedy and George were hoping to make, and the war ended without ever employing their great invention.
The idea wasn’t dead, however. In 1957, the U.S. Navy reexamined the patent and design when engineers at Sylvania Electronics Systems Division had the idea to use electronics instead of piano rolls in the manufacture of secure military communications tools. This adjusted design was quickly implemented and utilized on the naval ships during the blockade of Cuba in 1962. And it only grew from there.
After their patent expired in 1959, Hedy and George saw their incredible invention become the foundation of other major breakthroughs in communication technology, things that shape our world today, including: CDMA (an important component of cell phones) and WiFi. While Hedy will always be known as one of the most beautiful women that ever lived, the legacy of her work on frequency hopping with George Antheil also earned Hedy the well-deserved moniker of “the mother of WiFi”.
