Although many inventions created by women have significantly changed the world, many have not received due recognition.
Many resources were developed by women inventors, which definitely changed the world. Yet, in contrast to their contributions, many inventions created by women do not receive due recognition. Therefore, some names are still little known.
By definition, an invention is a discovery that generates social value, that is, that makes people’s daily lives easier, and this is the main characteristic of creative creations. Hedy Lamarr e Florence Parpat.
In this sense, find out below the inventions created by these women, which revolutionized people’s daily lives.
Hedy Lamarr
Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler, better known as Hedy Lamarr, was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1914. Of Jewish origin, she married the influential arms manufacturer Friedrich Mandl. However, the marriage’s main objective was to protect Hedy’s family. Since, at the time, neighboring Germany already had Adolf Hitler’s Nazi bias.
In a scenario in which her husband was negotiating arms with the Nazis, Hedy fled to Los Angeles, in the United States, in August 1937, after a series of unsuccessful attempts. After all, the country was the only safe place for a Jewish actress, who had already starred in the first nude and orgasm scene in the history of cinema, with the 1933 film Ecstasy.
While a resident of the United States, Hedy Lamarr became one of the highest-paid actresses of the 1940s. As a result, she filmed three films simultaneously. Thus, during this period, Lamarr established her reputation as the most beautiful woman in cinema.
Thus, with a life full of historic achievements, Hedy Lamarr passed away at the age of 86, in Orlando. At the time, the actress was already recognized as a North American citizen. In her personal life, the Austrian had four children and was married six times.
Inventor woman
Hedy Lamarr’s notorious intelligence, combined with what she had learned as the wife of a weapons manufacturer, were the basis for the actress to take on the mission of fighting Nazism. In this context and adding knowledge, the actress knew that among all the weapons manufactured, torpedoes presented the greatest volume of problems, precisely because they suffered interference from signals from enemy ships.
In this way, another creation was added to the inventions created by women.
Thus, after months of hard work, Lamarr and composer George Antheil presented in October 1940 – the beginning of the Second World War – a system that alternated radio frequencies to be implemented in torpedoes and, in this way, mislead enemy troops: the FHHS (Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrumor the variable frequency diffusion spectrum).
Next, check out the registered patent for the invention she created.
Still, despite the discovery, the US Navy only adopted the technology in 1962, during the Missile Crisis. However, they did not even recognize that the invention had been created by a woman, which would only happen in 1997.
Finally, in a short time the technology stopped being just for military use and became the basis of GPS and Wi-Fi, which are based on data transmission via frequency. In this way, Lamarr confirmed the full potential of inventions created by women.
Invention created by a woman: inspiration
The occasion that would have inspired the duo of inventors was a duet on the piano, in which the two exchanged signals understood only by them controlling the instrument. In this sense, this fact caught Lamarr’s attention and made her think that the message exchange structure could be used on a broader level.
In this way, an idea was born that would enrich the list of inventions created by women.
Hedy Lamarr Quotes
Below, check out some famous phrases from the actress and inventor:
“I advise everyone not to save: spend your money. Most people save their entire lives and leave it to someone else. Money is to be enjoyed.”
If you use your imagination, you can look at any actress and see her naked. I hope to make you use your imagination.”
“I must stop marrying men who feel inferior to me. Somewhere there must be a man who could be my husband and not feel inferior. I need a superior inferior man.”
“Hope and curiosity about the future seemed better than guarantees. That’s how I was. The unknown has always been so attractive to me… and still is.”
Curiosities
– Although American torpedoes proved inefficient during World War II, the American Navy did not use inventor Hedy Lamarr’s technology. This is because prejudice against inventions created by a woman was greater.
– In 1997, Hedy received an honorable mention from the United States government. I am indebted to her valuable contribution.
– Hedy Lamarr did not receive any financial return for the invention.
– A miniseries about the actress, starring Gal Gadot, is being produced by Apple.
– Hedy Lamarr participated in 34 films, including North American, German, Austrian and Czech productions.
Florence Parpat
It is consistent to say that, if the day has a pleasant temperature, something around 25ºC, meat will only last a few hours without refrigeration, while fruit will only last a few days at most. Therefore, the refrigerator is an essential appliance, which is part of the kitchen of many people around the world.
It is worth noting that the electric refrigerator, so common in modern everyday life, was created in 1914 by the brilliant female inventor Florence Parpat. During this period, the invention satisfactorily replaced the refrigeration system that used ice boxes until then, quickly becoming popular throughout the world. In this sense, Florence expanded the inventions created by women
The life of a woman inventor
There is little information about the life of New Yorker Florence Parpat, who was a discreet woman despite her great discoveries. It is worth mentioning that the inventor registered her first patent on October 14, 1904: it was a street sweeper that improved urban cleaning, being widely used throughout the United States.
In turn, already married to Hiram Layman, in 1914, Florence patented the electric refrigerator, expanding the list of inventions created by women.
The fridge
In 1856, English engineer James Harrison was hired by an Australian beer factory to develop a refrigeration system for products. Seeking to meet the request, the device he developed used vapor compression for refrigeration.
It is worth noting that a similar system was already used by the United States meat industry in 1854. In this way, the device was improved and, in 1866, a fruit and vegetable refrigeration system was implemented.
Currently, there are different models of refrigerators. Even so, although the models vary, they have the following basic structure:
1 – Refrigerant fluid: freon is the fluid used on a large scale, as it has low vaporization pressure and high condensation pressure, facilitating heat exchange and, consequently, refrigeration.
2 – Compressor: responsible for moving the fluid, removing it from the pipe that precedes it (reducing the pressure) and injecting it into the pipe that follows it (increasing the pressure).
3 – Capacitor: It is nothing more than an external coil, which releases the heat captured inside the refrigerator to the external environment.
4 – Capillary tube: reduces the vapor pressure of the fluid, thus preserving the entire system.
5 – Evaporator: Formed by a serpentine-shaped tube attached to the freezer, the evaporator allows the fluid to assume a gaseous state (by absorbing energy from the freezer) and, upon leaving the evaporator, reach the compressor and restart the cycle.
6 – Freezer: It is located at the top of the refrigerator to facilitate low temperature and cold air circulation.
Curiosities
– The refrigerator is one of the 50 most important objects in the modern economy. The invention created by a woman significantly impacted the economy of perishable products.
– Florence was not only a brilliant inventor, but also a shrewd saleswoman and administrator, who popularized her inventions.
– Before refrigeration systems, it was common to use snow and ice, springs, caves, cellars and streams in order to cool food.
Sources: Oxford Languages, BBC, Canal Tech, Showmetech, Hedy Lamarr, R7, Ambiente Legal, Wikipedia, Curiosities Site, Portal São Francisco, Só Physics.
Images: The Guardian, Everything about your film, Wikipedia, JWA,World Sweeper, Pinterest, Etsystatic, TechMundo, DocPlayer.
How about meeting more revolutionary women? Read more at: Inspiring women – 20 female figures to identify with
