The creator of Wi-Fi technology may not be a person many Rio Hondo students think of when using the Internet. When asked, a few students said answers ranging from the government, the Nazi’s in WWII and even Einstein. No one knew the answer lied in the stars.
On Nov. 9, the Hollywood community and the scientific community celebrated Hedy Lamarr’s 100th birthday. For those unaware of her existence, Lamarr was a talented actress, known for such Hollywood classics such as Algiers and Comrade X.
The Austrian-born actress passed away on Jan. 19, 2000, but her contribution to Internet connectivity is the basis of many modern wireless technologies.
“It is inspiring to know that a woman contributed to the creation of Wi-Fi,” Rio Hondo student Danya Romero said when she found out the news. “A technology that almost everyone I know uses day in and day out.”
Lamarr’s intention of creating Wi-Fi was not for people have access to the Internet all day every day. In fact, Lamarr and co-creator George Antheil first stumbled upon wireless technology during World War II.
During her marriage to armaments manufacturer Friedrich Mandl, Lamarr exposed herself to military technologies and caught on quickly to the science behind it.
Later on in life Lamarr met composer and inventor, Antheil. The two discussed many topics that eventually led to the discussion of torpedo jamming technology.
Together, using a piano, they developed a way to avoid the interference by creating frequency hopping able to avoid jamming.
Although an excellent invention, it was never adopted by the U.S during the WWII. It was not until an incident in Cuba that their invention was used.
Electronic Frontier Foundation finally awarded her the same year she died. This year, Lamarr and Antheil were both included in the Inventor’s Hall of Fame.
Their frequency hopping technology is implemented to this day in various technologies such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and thanks to this beautiful starlet; people can experience wireless technology at a click of a button.
