Hedy Lamar was a woman of many talents. She was first known as a European film
actress in the 1930s and early 1940s. Some of her popular films included Boom Town
(1940) and White Cargo (1942); however, her roles generally did not include very
many spoken lines and she became bored. To relieve this boredom, Lamar took up
inventing.
Hedy Lamar did not have any formal training, but she did not allow that to stop her
from teaching herself in her spare time. Although she had a number of failed
inventions, such as an improved traffic light and a carbonated drink, Lamar did not
stop coming up with ideas. She even spent time working with the science engineering
team employed by Howard Hughes, the aviation tycoon.
During World War II, Lamarr learned that one of the military's new technologies,
radio-controlled torpedoes, were too easily jammed and redirected. She came up with
a type of radio signal that changed, or "hopped," frequencies and was unable to be
tracked or disrupted. With the assistance of her friend George Antheil, she was able
to design the system and patent it in August 1942.
Unfortunately, the United States Navy was not interested. The technology of the era
wasn't quite good enough to easily implement Lamarr's system, and the Navy was
not particularly interested in civilian inventions at the time. It wasn't until 20 years
later, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, that a version of Lamarr's system began
appearing on Navy ships.
The work Lamarr and Antheil did creating this frequency-hopping system led to
many technologies that are often taken for granted today. Their work led to the
development of cell phones, Bluetooth, and WiFi. Just think, we might not have any
of those things if Hedy Lamarr had been given more interesting roles.
Why was Lamarr's invention not of interest to the US?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The correct answer is B. The US Navy preferred to utilize technology developed by military engineers rather than consider Lamarr's invention. Choice A is incorrect because Hollywood containing spies is not relevant to why the US was not interested in Lamarr's invention. Choice C is incorrect as there is no mention of the military being too preoccupied to consider new inventions in the provided context. Choice D is incorrect as there is no indication that the US suspected Lamarr's patent to be invalid; rather, the focus was on the navy's preference for technology developed by military engineers.
Nokea