The origin of spread spectrum (a true story)

[ccat@netcom.com (Chris Beaumont)]

I have an interesting perspective on spread spectrum encryption,
because one of the inventors of this interesting technology was my father.
My father,George Antheil,was an avant garde composer living in Hollywood
in the late 30's and early 40's. One of his best friends was Hedy Lamarr,
the movie actress.One of the facts about Ms. Lamarr that many people were
unaware of,was that she was also very intelligent.(She had also just been
married and divorced from a Czeck arms magnate,and had spent much time
listening to her ex-husbands and friends 'shop talk'.) Anyway, she and
my father were very concerned about the Nazi's rise to power,and their
U-boat harassment of international shipping.My father, a composer who was
fascinated by machines (his composition,"Ballet Mechanique" was one of the
very first uses of machines in music.) was working on a composition for
several
player pianos at the time...This led them to the idea of using two rolls of
randomly
punched tape to synchronize a receiver and transmitter in a radio controlled
torpedo.Using this technology (frequency hopping) their torpedo would be
able to be remotely controlled,with virtually no risk of enemy jamming
or detection.And there you have it.I have the patent drawings..which
were done by both of them.. Theyre simply marvelous..
Several years ago, a guy who was writing a book on the history of encryption
called my half-brother to ask him about this story..Correct me if I'm
wrong,but I think this was the absolutely first use of spread spectrum
encryption... The patent was issued in 1940, and expired in 1957. In 1960
Sylvania, (I think) started manufacturing a radio controlled torpedo ...
Hedy Lamarr is still alive and living in Florida, my father died in
early 1959. Neither of them ever saw a penny from their pioneering patent.
Chris Beaumont
(Nutrient Cafe wholesale)
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Chris Beaumont
ccat@netcom.com
ccat@casa.stanford.edu           public key available via finger