Frequency-Hopping
As I often say, life is all about the story. And, there are so many great stories. Today’s wild, wonky, whimsical flowers were inspired by the story of how the technology of frequency-hopping originated. Also, it’s a story about women inventors. During WWI, a young actress in Austria was married to an arms manufacturer. While attending meetings and conferences with him, she became interested in the specifics of how a torpedo might be stopped. She labored relentlessly on this concept. She ultimately moved to the United States and continued her acting career in Hollywood. Supposedly, at a cocktail party, she met a neighbor who was a composer. After hearing her concept, he was interested in learning more. They began to collaborate and, using a piano, further develop the concept. He would play a note on the piano while she would play the same note in another octave, either higher or lower, thereby changing the frequency or tone. Their proof of concept involved presetting the algorithm on two rolls of paper that could be simultaneously played on two player pianos. The actress attempted to sell this concept to the U.S. Navy without success. The concept was that if a set sequence were known to both the Master and remote radio modems, this frequency-hopping would make it nearly impossible to jam the signal and stop the torpedo. Even though the Navy patted her on the head, she and her co-inventor documented the frequency-hopping concept and were granted a U.S. Patent in 1942. She was way ahead of her time and was not recognized during her lifetime for this world-altering invention which is the basis for all modern wireless communications such as WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth. Who was this woman? Hedy Lamar. Yes, the beautiful Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-born American actress, inventor, and film producer. She appeared in 30 films over a 28-year career and co-invented an early version of frequency-hopping spread spectrum communication for torpedo guidance.
In this painting, the numbers above the waveform peaks (1 through 16) on the wonky green vase represent a typical frequency-hopping pattern. The pattern is the result of a sequential preset algorithm designed to maintain synchronization between the two radio modems.
Hedy Lamar’s story is one of perseverance, determination, and tenacity. This immigrant to the United States made her money acting but followed her dream of documenting her technical concept. Like so many other women inventors, she stood on the shoulders of the inventors before her. Even though the Navy didn’t integrate her technology, she persevered and obtained her patent.
This reminds me of a story of another young inventor, our niece, Joy. She’s now a mom of four, homeschooling them and, along with her husband, shepherding them along the way. By training, she’s an engineer. But, this is a story about a much younger Joy. If memory serves, she was about five years old when she decided she was going to make perfume and perhaps invent a new fragrance. So, she gathered supplies from the most interesting sources around the house and hid under the desk in her bedroom in order to stay undetected while performing her experiment and perfecting her invention. Well, she created rather a strong smell, for sure! That might have been because her invented fragrance spilled all over the floor in her bedroom. She attempted to quietly get the vacuum cleaner and clean up the mess. But, when she opened the door, the smell was detected, and her little experiment was curtailed.
After many similar experiments, Joy ultimately decided she wanted to be an architect. She was admitted to USC, where she took her first two architecture classes. She was frustrated at what she called her dislike of doing abstract things. Because she wanted something that was comfortable and straight-forward, she took another calculus class instead of the prescribed architecture class. With the help of a conscientious guidance counselor, she then changed her major to engineering and sailed through the next several years. However, she may still some day invent that new fragrance since she is always sharp and curious – that’s just how her mind works. Also, her focus and natural talents for educating have produced four bright children who will no doubt make their own mark on this world.
This painting is dedicated to all the women inventors who have and will continue to persevere and meet the challenges they encounter. I also honor those women and men who raise children to be curious and to appreciate the wonder in our world. Their commitment to the future will guarantee these stories can continue to be told.
L’Chaim!