Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr, (Vienna, 9 novembre 1914 – Altamonte Springs, 19 gennaio 2000) lavorò con i maggiori registi e a fianco di attori come Spencer Tracy, Judy Garland, Clark Gable e James Stewart.
Ex studentessa di Ingegneria a Vienna, sviluppò il Secret Communication System (SCS) in grado di guidare criptatamente via radio siluri e mezzi navali e mettendo le basi non soltanto della crittografia, ma anche della telefonia mobile, dei sistemi wireless e della tecnologia telefonica GSM perché in grado di garantire la privacy delle comunicazioni tra utenti.
Il brevetto però non venne “capito” dalla Marina Militare forse perché a proporlo era una donna bellissima; ma nel 1962 gli ingegneri della Sylvania contribuirono alla risoluzione della crisi a Cuba usando l’idea di Hedy.
Testo di Tiziana Ghiggia
Illustration by Michela Chiarelli
Hedy Lamarr (Vienna, November 9, 1914 – Altamonte Springs, January 19, 2000) worked with major directors and starred alongside actors such as Spencer Tracy, Judy Garland, Clark Gable, and James Stewart.
A former engineering student in Vienna, she developed the Secret Communication System (SCS), which enabled encrypted radio guidance of torpedoes and naval vessels. This laid the foundations not only for cryptography but also for mobile telephony, wireless systems, and GSM telephone technology, as it was capable of ensuring the privacy of communications between users.
However, the patent was not "understood" by the Navy, perhaps because it was proposed by a beautiful woman. Yet, in 1962, engineers at Sylvania used her idea to help resolve the Cuban Missile Crisis.
