1 00:00:01,610 --> 00:00:03,109 PATRICK STEWART: FOR MOST OF HISTORY, 2 00:00:03,209 --> 00:00:06,910 WE WERE ISOLATED FROM THE REST OF HUMANKIND, 3 00:00:07,010 --> 00:00:09,643 BUT THE URGE TO COMMUNICATE WITH ONE ANOTHER 4 00:00:09,743 --> 00:00:12,243 WAS SO POWERFUL 5 00:00:12,343 --> 00:00:16,476 THAT IT CHANGED HOW WE INTERACT 6 00:00:16,576 --> 00:00:20,476 AND GAVE US A NEW INTERFACE WITH THE WORLD. 7 00:00:21,777 --> 00:00:23,209 THE STORY OF HOW WE GOT HERE IS FULL 8 00:00:23,309 --> 00:00:28,209 OF THE MOST ASTONISHING TWISTS AND UNLIKELY TURNS. 9 00:00:28,309 --> 00:00:30,643 IT WOULD TAKE A ROMAN SIEGE, 10 00:00:30,743 --> 00:00:33,209 AN UNTIMELY DEATH, 11 00:00:33,309 --> 00:00:35,476 A TEENAGE GENIUS, 12 00:00:35,576 --> 00:00:38,044 A HOLLYWOOD STAR WITH A BRILLIANT MIND, 13 00:00:38,143 --> 00:00:43,176 THE CLOAK AND DAGGER COMMUNICATIONS OF WORLD WAR II, 14 00:00:43,276 --> 00:00:46,010 AND A MISSED VACATION 15 00:00:46,109 --> 00:00:48,610 TO CREATE A DEVICE THAT PUT THE WHOLE WORLD 16 00:00:48,710 --> 00:00:52,076 IN OUR HANDS, THE SMARTPHONE. 17 00:00:54,276 --> 00:00:57,176 THESE ARE THE INVENTIONS THAT DEFINE OUR AGE 18 00:00:57,276 --> 00:01:00,309 AND CHANGED THE WORLD FOREVER, 19 00:01:00,410 --> 00:01:03,343 THAT ALLOWED US TO MOVE BOTH ON THE GROUND 20 00:01:03,443 --> 00:01:06,176 AND IN THE AIR, 21 00:01:06,276 --> 00:01:10,176 TO CONNECT AND TO EXPLORE THE FURTHEST REGIONS 22 00:01:10,276 --> 00:01:11,676 OF THE UNIVERSE, 23 00:01:11,777 --> 00:01:14,309 EACH A MOMENT OF INGENUITY, 24 00:01:14,410 --> 00:01:17,010 OF WONDER... 25 00:01:20,044 --> 00:01:22,343 OF BREAKTHROUGH. 26 00:01:30,209 --> 00:01:32,843 [CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS] 27 00:01:37,343 --> 00:01:42,010 STEWART: TODAY, NEARLY TWO THIRDS OF HUMANITY USE A SMARTPHONE. 28 00:01:42,109 --> 00:01:44,410 IT CONNECTS BILLIONS OF PEOPLE IN A WAY 29 00:01:44,510 --> 00:01:47,109 THAT HAS NOT BEEN POSSIBLE BEFORE. 30 00:01:47,209 --> 00:01:49,510 IN JUST ONE GENERATION, 31 00:01:49,610 --> 00:01:51,610 IT HAS REVOLUTIONIZED THE TELEPHONE 32 00:01:51,710 --> 00:01:53,910 FROM SOMETHING WE USE TO TALK TO EACH OTHER 33 00:01:54,010 --> 00:01:58,910 INTO SOMETHING THAT HAS COME TO DOMINATE OUR LIVES. 34 00:01:59,010 --> 00:02:01,943 MAN: IT'S HARD TO THINK OF ANYTHING THAT HAS CHANGED 35 00:02:02,044 --> 00:02:04,209 SO MUCH OF THE WORLD FOR SO MANY PEOPLE 36 00:02:04,309 --> 00:02:07,143 SO QUICKLY AS THE SMARTPHONE. 37 00:02:07,243 --> 00:02:09,410 STEWART: WE TRUST OUR MOST IMPORTANT 38 00:02:09,510 --> 00:02:11,777 AND PRIVATE MATTERS TO OUR SMARTPHONES-- 39 00:02:11,877 --> 00:02:14,910 OUR PASSWORDS, OUR PHOTOGRAPHS AND VIDEOS, 40 00:02:15,010 --> 00:02:16,476 OUR TASTE IN MUSIC, 41 00:02:16,576 --> 00:02:20,309 EVEN THE INTIMATE DETAILS OF OUR LOVED ONES AND FRIENDS. 42 00:02:20,410 --> 00:02:23,743 WE USE THEM TO NAVIGATE OUR ENVIRONMENT 43 00:02:23,843 --> 00:02:26,877 AND HELP US TO LIVE OUR LIVES. 44 00:02:26,977 --> 00:02:31,443 EVEN NOW, ENGINEERS ARE WORKING ON THE NEXT STAGE 45 00:02:31,543 --> 00:02:33,076 OF THE SMARTPHONE'S EVOLUTION, 46 00:02:33,176 --> 00:02:36,977 A MACHINE WE CAN CONTROL WITH OUR MIND. 47 00:02:37,076 --> 00:02:40,209 WOMAN: WE'LL BE ABLE TO USE TECHNOLOGY THAT INTERFACES 48 00:02:40,309 --> 00:02:42,943 DIRECTLY WITH OUR BRAIN AND INFLUENCE ANYTHING 49 00:02:43,044 --> 00:02:47,643 IN OUR PHYSICAL WORLD WITHOUT EVEN HAVING TO LIFT A FINGER. 50 00:02:53,410 --> 00:02:58,276 STEWART: THE SMARTPHONE FULFILLS A DREAM THAT IS SURPRISINGLY ANCIENT. 51 00:02:58,376 --> 00:03:02,877 IT BEGINS NOT HUNDREDS BUT THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO 52 00:03:02,977 --> 00:03:07,977 WITH A GREEK HISTORIAN AND A ROMAN SIEGE. 53 00:03:08,076 --> 00:03:10,877 [MEN GRUNTING, SWORDS CLANGING] 54 00:03:13,643 --> 00:03:15,610 POLYBIUS WAS A GREEK HISTORIAN BEST KNOWN 55 00:03:15,710 --> 00:03:18,176 FOR HIS 40-VOLUME OPUS, "HISTORIES." 56 00:03:18,276 --> 00:03:20,676 IT WAS REALLY THE STORY OF THE RISE OF ROME 57 00:03:20,777 --> 00:03:22,977 IN THE THIRD AND SECOND CENTURIES B.C., 58 00:03:23,076 --> 00:03:25,376 AND AT THE SAME TIME, THE FALL OF CARTHAGE, 59 00:03:25,476 --> 00:03:28,510 THE SO-CALLED PUNIC WARS. 60 00:03:28,610 --> 00:03:32,676 WHAT'S PARTICULARLY STRIKING IS THAT IT CHANGED THE WAY WE WRITE HISTORY. 61 00:03:32,777 --> 00:03:34,943 HE INSISTED FOR THE FIRST TIME 62 00:03:35,044 --> 00:03:36,843 ON THE USE OF DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE 63 00:03:36,943 --> 00:03:40,276 AND ALSO THE USE OF FIRST-HAND EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS. 64 00:03:40,376 --> 00:03:41,777 BUT THERE WAS SOMETHING ELSE HE NOTICED 65 00:03:41,877 --> 00:03:44,376 DURING THE COURSE OF HIS OBSERVATIONS, 66 00:03:44,476 --> 00:03:47,610 AND THAT WAS THAT THE ROMANS HAD A VERY INEFFICIENT WAY 67 00:03:47,710 --> 00:03:50,843 OF SIGNALING LONG DISTANCE ON THE BATTLEFIELD. 68 00:03:52,276 --> 00:03:54,576 BOTH PARTIES, THE SENDER AND THE RECEIVER, 69 00:03:54,676 --> 00:03:57,543 HAD A CLAY POT WITH A STOPPER IN IT FILLED WITH WATER. 70 00:03:57,643 --> 00:03:59,209 AND INTO THE TOP OF THE CLAY POT 71 00:03:59,309 --> 00:04:02,343 IS PLACED THIS WOODEN ROD WITH NUMBERS ON IT. 72 00:04:02,443 --> 00:04:04,543 NOW, EACH OF THOSE NUMBERS REFERS 73 00:04:04,643 --> 00:04:06,977 TO A PREDETERMINED MESSAGE WHICH IS ON THIS BOARD, 74 00:04:07,076 --> 00:04:09,877 AND THE MESSAGE I'M GOING TO WANT TO SEND IS NUMBER 7-- 75 00:04:09,977 --> 00:04:11,977 "CAVALRY RETREAT." 76 00:04:12,076 --> 00:04:13,510 THE SYSTEM WORKS LIKE THIS. 77 00:04:13,610 --> 00:04:16,109 WHEN THE ROMAN SIGNALER WAS READY TO SEND HIS MESSAGE, 78 00:04:16,209 --> 00:04:18,977 HE LIFTS HIS LIGHTED TORCH UP INTO THE AIR. 79 00:04:19,076 --> 00:04:20,977 THE PERSON WHO IS GOING TO RECEIVE THE MESSAGE 80 00:04:21,076 --> 00:04:24,977 SEES THE LIGHTED TORCH AND LIFTS ANOTHER ONE IN RESPONSE. 81 00:04:25,076 --> 00:04:28,843 WHEN THE SIGNALER SEES THIS, HE DROPS HIS TORCH, 82 00:04:28,943 --> 00:04:32,309 AND THIS IS A SIGN THAT BOTH OF THEM AT THE SAME TIME 83 00:04:32,410 --> 00:04:35,910 REMOVE THE STOPPERS FROM THE BOTTOM OF THEIR POTS. 84 00:04:37,710 --> 00:04:39,777 NOW THAT OF COURSE IS GOING TO LOWER THE WATER IN THE POT, 85 00:04:39,877 --> 00:04:42,543 AND EVENTUALLY, AS THE STICK DROPS, 86 00:04:42,643 --> 00:04:43,777 WE'LL GET TO THE RIGHT MESSAGE. 87 00:04:43,877 --> 00:04:45,510 AND WHEN WE GET TO THAT MESSAGE, 88 00:04:45,610 --> 00:04:47,543 IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE LET THEM KNOW AT THE SAME TIME 89 00:04:47,643 --> 00:04:50,276 SO THAT WE CAN STOP THE WHOLE PROCESS. 90 00:04:52,043 --> 00:04:54,410 OK, WE'RE THERE NOW. 91 00:05:00,043 --> 00:05:03,010 AND IT'S AT THAT POINT THAT WE SHOULD BOTH BE LOOKING 92 00:05:03,109 --> 00:05:04,543 AT THE SAME NUMBER ON THE ROD, 93 00:05:04,643 --> 00:05:08,910 WHICH EQUATES TO THE MESSAGE "CAVALRY RETREAT." 94 00:05:09,010 --> 00:05:10,743 THE DRAWBACK OF THE SYSTEM, OF COURSE, 95 00:05:10,843 --> 00:05:14,176 IS THAT YOU CAN ONLY SEND THESE FIXED MESSAGES. 96 00:05:14,276 --> 00:05:17,877 CONVINCED THERE MUST BE A BETTER WAY TO COMMUNICATE OVER THE BATTLEFIELD, 97 00:05:17,977 --> 00:05:20,343 POLYBIUS COMES UP WITH THE INGENIOUS WAY 98 00:05:20,443 --> 00:05:24,376 OF USING A CODE TO INDICATE INDIVIDUAL LETTERS. 99 00:05:24,476 --> 00:05:26,843 HE COMES UP WITH A NUMERICAL GRID 100 00:05:26,943 --> 00:05:29,543 THAT ENABLES EVERY INDIVIDUAL LETTER IN THE ALPHABET 101 00:05:29,643 --> 00:05:32,676 TO BE IDENTIFIED BY JUST TWO NUMBERS. 102 00:05:34,076 --> 00:05:37,076 IT WAS A SYSTEM KNOWN AS THE POLYBIUS SQUARE. 103 00:05:38,576 --> 00:05:40,843 THE ROMAN SIGNALER WOULD BEGIN BY RAISING HIS TORCH 104 00:05:40,943 --> 00:05:42,810 AND WAITING FOR THE PERSON WHO WOULD 105 00:05:42,910 --> 00:05:44,943 RECEIVE THE MESSAGE TO ACKNOWLEDGE HIM. 106 00:05:45,044 --> 00:05:46,376 ONCE HE KNEW HE WAS READY, 107 00:05:46,476 --> 00:05:48,576 HE WOULD BEGIN TO SPELL OUT HIS MESSAGE 108 00:05:48,676 --> 00:05:51,943 BIT BY BIT USING POLYBIUS' SQUARE. 109 00:05:53,376 --> 00:05:54,943 SO THE FIRST LETTER IS "P." 110 00:05:55,044 --> 00:06:01,710 IT'S 5 TORCHES ON THE LEFT AND 3 TORCHES ON THE RIGHT. 111 00:06:01,810 --> 00:06:05,676 LETTER BY LETTER, THE SIGNALER COULD SPELL OUT HIS MESSAGE. 112 00:06:07,910 --> 00:06:10,010 NEXT LETTER WE'VE GOT IS "R." 113 00:06:10,109 --> 00:06:12,877 TWO ON THE LEFT AND 4 ON THE RIGHT. 114 00:06:12,977 --> 00:06:16,276 DAVID: POLYBIUS' SIGNALING SYSTEM WAS A REVOLUTION 115 00:06:16,376 --> 00:06:17,710 IN MILITARY COMMUNICATION 116 00:06:17,810 --> 00:06:20,676 AND SENDING MESSAGES OVER LONG DISTANCES. 117 00:06:27,343 --> 00:06:29,810 [MEN GRUNTING] 118 00:06:29,910 --> 00:06:35,777 STEWART: POLYBIUS HAD INVENTED THE FIRST TWO-WAY ENCRYPTED MESSAGING SYSTEM. 119 00:06:37,510 --> 00:06:42,376 BUT SIGNALING THIS WAY WAS ONLY POSSIBLE BY LINE OF SIGHT. 120 00:06:42,476 --> 00:06:43,977 FOR THE NEXT 2,000 YEARS, 121 00:06:44,076 --> 00:06:48,510 COMMUNICATING FURTHER AFIELD MEANT SENDING A LETTER. 122 00:06:49,777 --> 00:06:52,376 AND IT WAS THE TRAGIC CONTENTS OF A LETTER 123 00:06:52,476 --> 00:06:56,443 THAT TRIGGERED THE NEXT STEP IN THE STORY OF THE SMARTPHONE. 124 00:06:59,476 --> 00:07:02,276 IN THE 1820s, THE OPEN BOULEVARDS OF AMERICA'S 125 00:07:02,376 --> 00:07:06,010 NEW CAPITAL ARE BARELY 30 YEARS OLD. 126 00:07:06,109 --> 00:07:10,010 AND IT'S HERE THAT THE EMERGING ARTIST SAMUEL MORSE 127 00:07:10,109 --> 00:07:12,476 IS WORKING ON HIS MOST IMPORTANT COMMISSION, 128 00:07:12,576 --> 00:07:14,010 ONE THAT HE THINKS IS GOING TO BRING HIM 129 00:07:14,109 --> 00:07:16,010 GREAT FAME AND FORTUNE. 130 00:07:17,543 --> 00:07:18,743 IT'S A PORTRAIT OF THE MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE, 131 00:07:18,843 --> 00:07:20,977 A MAN WHO HAD FOUGHT IN BOTH THE AMERICAN 132 00:07:21,076 --> 00:07:22,643 AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTIONARY WARS 133 00:07:22,743 --> 00:07:25,376 AND WHO IS ALSO A CLOSE FRIEND OF GEORGE WASHINGTON. 134 00:07:27,010 --> 00:07:30,610 6 YEARS EARLIER ON SEPTEMBER 29, 1818, 135 00:07:30,710 --> 00:07:33,209 MORSE HAD MARRIED LUCRETIA PICKERING WALKER, 136 00:07:33,309 --> 00:07:36,343 AND THE TWO HAD BEEN HAPPY. 137 00:07:36,443 --> 00:07:38,010 THEY HAD TWO BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN, 138 00:07:38,109 --> 00:07:41,743 AND LUCRETIA WAS NOW HEAVILY PREGNANT WITH THEIR THIRD CHILD. 139 00:07:44,176 --> 00:07:45,810 EVEN WITH AN EXPECTANT WIFE, 140 00:07:45,910 --> 00:07:48,209 MORSE COULDN'T TURN DOWN AN IMPORTANT COMMISSION, 141 00:07:48,309 --> 00:07:50,510 SO HE TRAVELED THE 300 MILES FROM HIS HOME 142 00:07:50,610 --> 00:07:54,209 IN NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT TO WASHINGTON D.C. TO TAKE THE JOB. 143 00:07:58,743 --> 00:08:00,443 LUCRETIA WRITES REGULAR LETTERS, 144 00:08:00,543 --> 00:08:04,576 AND ONE READS, "I THINK NOW WE CAN INDULGE A RATIONAL HOPE 145 00:08:04,676 --> 00:08:06,410 "THAT THE TIME IS NOT FAR DISTANT 146 00:08:06,510 --> 00:08:09,243 WHEN YOU CAN BE IN THE BOSOM OF YOUR MUCH-LOVED FAMILY." 147 00:08:09,343 --> 00:08:11,010 MORSE LOOKS FORWARD TO BEING HOME 148 00:08:11,109 --> 00:08:15,343 AND ENDS HIS REPLY, "I LONG TO HEAR FROM YOU." 149 00:08:17,810 --> 00:08:21,476 STEWART: LUCRETIA GAVE BIRTH TWO DAYS LATER, 150 00:08:21,576 --> 00:08:23,877 BUT THERE WERE COMPLICATIONS, 151 00:08:23,977 --> 00:08:27,877 AND SAMUEL MORSE, HUNDREDS OF MILES AWAY, 152 00:08:27,977 --> 00:08:29,443 HAD NO WAY OF KNOWING. 153 00:08:29,543 --> 00:08:33,143 3 DAYS PASSED BEFORE MORSE RECEIVED AN URGENT 154 00:08:33,243 --> 00:08:36,810 AND DEVASTATING MESSAGE FROM HIS FATHER. 155 00:08:36,910 --> 00:08:39,576 MASON: "MY HEART IS IN PAIN AND DEEPLY SORROWFUL 156 00:08:39,676 --> 00:08:42,643 "WHILE I ANNOUNCE TO YOU THE SUDDEN AND UNEXPECTED DEATH 157 00:08:42,743 --> 00:08:46,510 OF YOUR DEAR AND DESERVEDLY LOVED WIFE." 158 00:08:54,309 --> 00:08:59,743 STEWART: IT TOOK HIM ANOTHER 3 DAYS TO RIDE THE 300 MILES HOME. 159 00:08:59,843 --> 00:09:04,676 IN ALL, A WEEK HAD PASSED SINCE LUCRETIA PASSED AWAY. 160 00:09:04,777 --> 00:09:07,010 MASON: BY THE TIME MORSE ARRIVES HOME, 161 00:09:07,109 --> 00:09:09,443 LUCRETIA IS ALREADY BURIED. 162 00:09:09,543 --> 00:09:12,943 SO HERE IT IS, THE GRAVE OF LUCRETIA MORSE. 163 00:09:13,043 --> 00:09:33,343 ♪ 164 00:09:33,443 --> 00:09:36,176 MORSE IS DISTRAUGHT, 165 00:09:36,276 --> 00:09:38,343 BUT IN THE DEPTH OF HIS GRIEF, 166 00:09:38,443 --> 00:09:40,610 HE BECOMES DETERMINED TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM 167 00:09:40,710 --> 00:09:44,910 OF HOW TO SEND MESSAGES QUICKLY OVER LONG DISTANCES. 168 00:09:52,476 --> 00:09:56,743 STEWART: THE TRAGEDY SET IN MOTION AN OBSESSION, 169 00:09:56,843 --> 00:09:59,977 AN OBSESSION THAT DURING A CHANCE ENCOUNTER AT SEA 170 00:10:00,076 --> 00:10:03,076 8 YEARS LATER WOULD LEAD MORSE TO A BREAKTHROUGH 171 00:10:03,176 --> 00:10:06,043 THAT WOULD CHANGE THE WORLD. 172 00:10:07,977 --> 00:10:11,943 MASON: IN 1832, MORSE IS RETURNING BY SHIP FROM A TRIP TO EUROPE 173 00:10:12,044 --> 00:10:14,376 WHEN HE HAPPENS TO MEET THE AMERICAN SCIENTIST 174 00:10:14,476 --> 00:10:16,576 CHARLES THOMAS JACKSON. 175 00:10:16,676 --> 00:10:21,376 JACKSON HAS EXPERIENCE WITH THE LATEST STUDIES OF ELECTRICITY. 176 00:10:21,476 --> 00:10:22,943 IN THE EARLY 19th CENTURY, 177 00:10:23,043 --> 00:10:25,476 SCIENTISTS STUDYING THE NEW PHENOMENA OF ELECTRICITY 178 00:10:25,576 --> 00:10:29,610 AND MATERIALS MADE AN AMAZING DISCOVERY, 179 00:10:29,710 --> 00:10:33,176 THAT AN ELECTRICAL CURRENT COULD CREATE A MAGNETIC FORCE. 180 00:10:33,276 --> 00:10:35,010 SO HERE'S AN EXAMPLE OF HOW IT WORKS. 181 00:10:35,109 --> 00:10:36,943 I HAVE A PIECE OF METAL AROUND WHICH 182 00:10:37,044 --> 00:10:41,877 I'VE WRAPPED A WIRE, AND THEN CONNECT IT TO ELECTRICITY. 183 00:10:41,977 --> 00:10:44,910 WHEN IT'S OFF, I DON'T GET ANY MAGNETIC FORCE. 184 00:10:45,010 --> 00:10:46,710 IT'S NOT MAGNETIC, NOT PICKING UP PAPER CLIPS. 185 00:10:46,810 --> 00:10:49,109 BUT WHEN I TURN IT ON, 186 00:10:49,209 --> 00:10:51,010 IT BECOMES MAGNETIC. 187 00:10:51,109 --> 00:10:52,910 AND NOW I CAN TAKE THE CURRENT OFF 188 00:10:53,010 --> 00:10:55,910 AND IT'S NOT MAGNETIC ANYMORE. 189 00:10:56,010 --> 00:11:00,877 JACKSON SHOWS MORSE A RUDIMENTARY ELECTROMAGNET. 190 00:11:00,977 --> 00:11:04,276 IT'S THIS MOMENT THAT'S AT THE HEART OF THE STORY. 191 00:11:05,676 --> 00:11:07,243 MORSE BEGINS TO WONDER, 192 00:11:07,343 --> 00:11:10,977 CAN YOU USE THIS PROPERTY OF ON/OFF MAGNETIC FORCE 193 00:11:11,076 --> 00:11:13,910 AS A TYPE OF SWITCH? 194 00:11:16,044 --> 00:11:18,543 WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO SEND A MESSAGE ALONG A WIRE 195 00:11:18,643 --> 00:11:21,877 BY OPENING AND CLOSING AN ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT? 196 00:11:25,843 --> 00:11:28,209 STEWART: MORSE ATTACHED A SWITCH TO HIS CIRCUIT 197 00:11:28,309 --> 00:11:30,977 AND ON THE OTHER END, HE BUILT AN ELECTROMAGNET 198 00:11:31,076 --> 00:11:33,243 IN A RECEIVER. 199 00:11:33,343 --> 00:11:36,943 THIS IS HIS ORIGINAL DESIGN. 200 00:11:38,243 --> 00:11:41,176 CLOSING THE SWITCH SENT AN ELECTRIC PULSE 201 00:11:41,276 --> 00:11:43,343 TO THE RECEIVER. 202 00:11:46,010 --> 00:11:50,810 THIS COMPELLED A PEN TO MARK A PIECE OF PAPER THAT SLOWLY UNROLLED. 203 00:11:50,910 --> 00:11:53,476 THE LENGTH OF THE PEN STROKE CORRESPONDED 204 00:11:53,576 --> 00:11:56,044 TO THE LENGTH OF TIME THE SWITCH WAS CLOSED. 205 00:11:56,143 --> 00:11:58,810 THE PEN RESET WHEN THE SWITCH WAS OPEN. 206 00:11:58,910 --> 00:12:03,376 MORSE'S MACHINE SEEMS STRIKINGLY SIMPLE NOW, 207 00:12:03,476 --> 00:12:08,076 BUT ELECTRICITY HAD NEVER BEEN USED IN THIS WAY BEFORE. 208 00:12:13,343 --> 00:12:17,243 MASON: MORSE HAS BUILT A MACHINE THAT CAN SEND AN ELECTRICAL SIGNAL 209 00:12:17,343 --> 00:12:20,643 ALMOST INSTANTANEOUSLY DOWN A WIRE. 210 00:12:22,243 --> 00:12:23,943 BUT HE'S STILL GOT A PROBLEM. 211 00:12:24,044 --> 00:12:26,943 HE NEEDS TO DEVELOP A CODE THAT CAN TRANSFORM A SIMPLE 212 00:12:27,044 --> 00:12:30,977 START, STOP OPERATION INTO LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET. 213 00:12:31,076 --> 00:12:44,643 ♪ 214 00:12:44,743 --> 00:12:46,643 EVENTUALLY, AFTER A LOT OF THOUGHT, 215 00:12:46,743 --> 00:12:52,044 HE DEVELOPS THE SYSTEM OF DOTS AND DASHES THAT CARRIES HIS NAME. 216 00:12:54,309 --> 00:12:56,610 STEWART: THE MAN WHO HAD TO WAIT 3 DAYS 217 00:12:56,710 --> 00:12:58,410 TO HEAR TRAGIC NEWS FROM HOME 218 00:12:58,510 --> 00:13:02,777 HAD GIVEN HIGH-SPEED COMMUNICATION TO THE WORLD. 219 00:13:06,276 --> 00:13:09,043 MASON: MORSE HIMSELF BECOMES RICH AND FAMOUS, 220 00:13:09,143 --> 00:13:11,710 BUT HE NEVER FORGOT HIS INSPIRATION, 221 00:13:11,810 --> 00:13:13,443 WRITING TO HIS DAUGHTER THAT, 222 00:13:13,543 --> 00:13:16,143 "SHE COULD NEVER KNOW THE DEPTH OF THE WOUND 223 00:13:16,243 --> 00:13:19,543 THAT WAS INFLICTED WHEN HE LOST LUCRETIA." 224 00:13:25,476 --> 00:13:29,543 STEWART: MORSE'S TELEGRAPH SOON CONNECTED AMERICANS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. 225 00:13:29,643 --> 00:13:32,510 WITHIN JUST DECADES, A VAST NETWORK 226 00:13:32,610 --> 00:13:35,777 OF ELECTRICAL CABLES ENCIRCLED THE WORLD. 227 00:13:35,877 --> 00:13:38,510 HIGH-SPEED ELECTRICAL COMMUNICATION 228 00:13:38,610 --> 00:13:40,777 BECAME THE GLOBAL NERVOUS SYSTEM OF 229 00:13:40,877 --> 00:13:43,777 COMMERCE, JOURNALISM, AND DIPLOMACY, 230 00:13:43,877 --> 00:13:46,510 DISRUPTING HOW INFORMATION WAS SHARED, 231 00:13:46,610 --> 00:13:51,877 JUST AS THE SMARTPHONE WILL DO OVER 150 YEARS LATER. 232 00:13:53,044 --> 00:13:54,977 BUT FAST AS IT WAS, 233 00:13:55,076 --> 00:13:58,843 COMMUNICATING IN DOTS AND DASHES WASN'T INSTANT. 234 00:13:58,943 --> 00:14:03,044 MESSAGES HAD TO BE CODED, DELIVERED, AND DECODED 235 00:14:03,143 --> 00:14:05,977 VIA SPECIALLY-EQUIPPED TELEGRAPH OFFICES. 236 00:14:06,076 --> 00:14:07,176 [TELEGRAPH BEEPING] 237 00:14:07,276 --> 00:14:08,777 NEITHER WAS IT PRIVATE. 238 00:14:08,877 --> 00:14:10,977 AT LEAST TWO OPERATORS HAD ALREADY 239 00:14:11,076 --> 00:14:14,777 READ THE MESSAGE BEFORE ITS INTENDED RECIPIENT. 240 00:14:14,877 --> 00:14:17,910 FIGURING OUT HOW TO CONNECT TWO PEOPLE DIRECTLY, 241 00:14:18,010 --> 00:14:20,977 AND ACTUALLY HEAR ONE ANOTHER OVER LONG DISTANCE, 242 00:14:21,076 --> 00:14:26,710 WOULD REQUIRE A MAN WHO TAUGHT PEOPLE WHO COULDN'T HEAR AT ALL. 243 00:14:30,476 --> 00:14:33,343 ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL, A SCOTSMAN, 244 00:14:33,443 --> 00:14:36,676 WAS BORN INTO A FAMILY OF ELOCUTIONISTS, 245 00:14:36,777 --> 00:14:41,676 AND HE SHOWED AN INTEREST IN THE FAMILY BUSINESS FROM AN EARLY AGE. 246 00:14:41,777 --> 00:14:45,943 HE WAS PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN THE MECHANICS OF SPEECH 247 00:14:46,044 --> 00:14:49,476 AND EVEN LEARNED HOW TO MAKE HIS PET TERRIER APPEAR TO TALK 248 00:14:49,576 --> 00:14:53,309 BY MANIPULATING ITS JAW WHILE IT GROWLED. 249 00:14:53,410 --> 00:14:56,376 AS AN ADULT, HE USED THIS KNOWLEDGE 250 00:14:56,476 --> 00:14:59,276 TO TEACH THE DEAF HOW TO SPEAK. 251 00:15:00,810 --> 00:15:04,643 BUT IN 1872, HE BECAME FASCINATED 252 00:15:04,743 --> 00:15:08,343 WITH A NEW INTEREST-- ELECTRICITY. 253 00:15:08,443 --> 00:15:12,910 COULD HE USE THIS TO GENERATE SPEECH? 254 00:15:14,309 --> 00:15:16,610 MAN: THE KEY CHALLENGE IS, HOW DO YOU TURN 255 00:15:16,710 --> 00:15:20,743 THE SOUND WAVES OF THE HUMAN VOICE INTO AN ELECTRICAL SIGNAL 256 00:15:20,843 --> 00:15:23,176 THAT CAN TRAVEL DOWN A WIRE AND THEN AT THE OTHER END 257 00:15:23,276 --> 00:15:26,443 TURN IT BACK INTO A SOUND WAVE? 258 00:15:29,309 --> 00:15:33,576 STEWART: BELL EXPERIMENTED ON THE EARS OF CADAVERS. 259 00:15:33,676 --> 00:15:35,843 HE OBSERVED THE WAY DIFFERENT SOUNDS 260 00:15:35,943 --> 00:15:39,143 PRODUCED DISTINCT VIBRATIONS IN THE EARDRUM 261 00:15:39,243 --> 00:15:42,610 AND WAS STRUCK BY AN EXTRAORDINARY IDEA. 262 00:15:42,710 --> 00:15:44,643 IF HE COULD INVENT A MACHINE 263 00:15:44,743 --> 00:15:47,243 THAT ACTED LIKE AN ELECTRICAL EARDRUM, 264 00:15:47,343 --> 00:15:51,209 MAYBE HE COULD TELEGRAPH SPEECH. 265 00:15:55,676 --> 00:16:00,010 BELL CALLED HIS INVENTION AN ELECTRICAL SPEECH MACHINE, 266 00:16:00,109 --> 00:16:03,010 AND BEFORE BUILDING A WORKING PROTOTYPE, 267 00:16:03,109 --> 00:16:06,643 HE SUBMITTED AN APPLICATION TO THE U.S. PATENT OFFICE 268 00:16:06,743 --> 00:16:11,510 IN WASHINGTON D.C. ON FEBRUARY 14, 1876. 269 00:16:13,076 --> 00:16:16,443 ONLY HE WAS NOT ALONE. 270 00:16:17,576 --> 00:16:19,977 ANOTHER INVENTOR, ELISHA GRAY 271 00:16:20,076 --> 00:16:22,610 OF THE POWERFUL WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY, 272 00:16:22,710 --> 00:16:28,343 SUBMITTED A SIMILAR PATENT THAT VERY SAME DAY. 273 00:16:28,443 --> 00:16:30,243 BELL STILL HAD TO FIGURE OUT 274 00:16:30,343 --> 00:16:32,777 HOW TO BUILD HIS WORKING MACHINE. 275 00:16:34,510 --> 00:16:39,943 HIS PRIVATE NOTEBOOKS SHINE A LIGHT ON HIS FIRST PROTOTYPE. 276 00:16:43,777 --> 00:16:46,209 A MOUTHPIECE DIRECTED SOUND WAVES 277 00:16:46,309 --> 00:16:48,943 TO A DIAPHRAGM THAT WAS ATTACHED TO A NEEDLE. 278 00:16:49,044 --> 00:16:50,743 THE DIAPHRAGM FLEXED, 279 00:16:50,843 --> 00:16:54,276 IMMERSING THE NEEDLE INTO A VESSEL OF DILUTE ACID. 280 00:16:54,376 --> 00:16:58,276 THIS COMPLETED AN ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT. 281 00:16:58,376 --> 00:17:00,610 AS THE NEEDLE DIPPED IN THE ACID, 282 00:17:00,710 --> 00:17:03,010 IT GENERATED SURGES IN THE CURRENT 283 00:17:03,109 --> 00:17:04,543 THAT TRAVEL DOWN THE WIRE. 284 00:17:04,643 --> 00:17:06,076 AT THE RECEIVING END, 285 00:17:06,176 --> 00:17:07,510 THE DEVICE CONVERTED 286 00:17:07,610 --> 00:17:10,943 THOSE ELECTRICAL WAVES BACK INTO SOUND. 287 00:17:16,643 --> 00:17:21,109 BELL COMPLETED HIS PROTOTYPE ON MARCH 10, 1876. 288 00:17:21,209 --> 00:17:23,743 IT WAS A GROUNDBREAKING MOMENT 289 00:17:23,843 --> 00:17:27,376 THAT IRONICALLY WAS CELEBRATED IN SILENT FILM 290 00:17:27,476 --> 00:17:30,076 SOME 50 YEARS LATER. 291 00:17:34,910 --> 00:17:38,576 MAN: MR. WATSON, COME HERE. I WANT TO SEE YOU. 292 00:17:38,676 --> 00:17:40,977 WOMAN: TO MY DELIGHT, HE CAME AND DECLARED 293 00:17:41,076 --> 00:17:44,743 THAT HE HAD HEARD AND UNDERSTOOD WHAT I SAID. 294 00:17:48,343 --> 00:17:50,010 SO THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IT REALLY WORKED. 295 00:17:50,109 --> 00:17:51,610 ONE OF THE GREAT A-HA MOMENTS. 296 00:17:51,710 --> 00:17:52,943 THE GREAT A-HA MOMENTS. EXACTLY. 297 00:17:53,044 --> 00:17:54,410 IN THE HISTORY OF INVENTION. 298 00:17:54,510 --> 00:17:56,610 STEWART: BELL AND WATSON READ BOOKS TO EACH OTHER 299 00:17:56,710 --> 00:17:59,076 DURING THAT FIRST TELEPHONE CALL. 300 00:17:59,176 --> 00:18:02,676 THEY EVEN SANG SONGS. 301 00:18:07,476 --> 00:18:09,743 BELL WAS AWARDED HIS PATENT 302 00:18:09,843 --> 00:18:13,010 AND ESTABLISHED THE BELL TELEPHONE COMPANY. 303 00:18:13,109 --> 00:18:14,676 BUT THERE'S MORE TO THIS STORY 304 00:18:14,777 --> 00:18:18,010 THAN 1920s FILMMAKERS WOULD HAVE YOU BELIEVE. 305 00:18:18,109 --> 00:18:21,276 BELL'S PROTOTYPE NO LONGER RESEMBLED 306 00:18:21,376 --> 00:18:24,510 HIS ORIGINAL PATENT APPLICATION. 307 00:18:24,610 --> 00:18:27,877 HIS SKETCHES SHOW THAT WITHIN THE SPACE OF A MONTH 308 00:18:27,977 --> 00:18:31,676 IT LOOKED A LOT LIKE ELISHA GRAY'S DESIGN. 309 00:18:31,777 --> 00:18:34,977 MAN: IF YOU LOOK AT THE DIAGRAMS IN THE TWO DOCUMENTS, 310 00:18:35,076 --> 00:18:36,276 THEY ARE VERY SIMILAR. 311 00:18:36,376 --> 00:18:38,977 AND THEY BOTH SHOW THE LIQUID TRANSMITTER, 312 00:18:39,076 --> 00:18:42,376 WHERE A NEEDLE WOULD VIBRATE IN A BATH OF BATTERY ACID 313 00:18:42,476 --> 00:18:45,643 TO HELP MODULATE THE CURRENT THAT WAS PASSING THROUGH IT. 314 00:18:45,743 --> 00:18:47,643 SO, YEAH, IT'S A LEGITIMATE QUESTION 315 00:18:47,743 --> 00:18:49,543 WHETHER THEY REALLY BOTH CAME UP 316 00:18:49,643 --> 00:18:51,143 WITH THIS IDEA AT THE SAME TIME 317 00:18:51,243 --> 00:18:53,209 OR MAYBE THERE WAS SOMETHING A LITTLE MORE 318 00:18:53,309 --> 00:18:57,109 UNDERHANDED INVOLVED. 319 00:18:57,209 --> 00:18:59,676 STEWART: THE WESTERN UNION CLAIMED BELL SOMEHOW 320 00:18:59,777 --> 00:19:03,710 STOLE THE LIQUID TRANSMITTER IDEA FROM ELISHA GRAY 321 00:19:03,810 --> 00:19:05,543 AND SUED HIM. 322 00:19:05,643 --> 00:19:09,309 OTHER COMPANIES ALSO FILED COUNTLESS LAWSUITS 323 00:19:09,410 --> 00:19:11,910 TO INVALIDATE BELL'S PATENT. 324 00:19:13,743 --> 00:19:16,143 MEIGS: THE TELEPHONE WAS ONE OF THE BIGGEST INVENTIONS IN HISTORY, 325 00:19:16,243 --> 00:19:17,977 AND EVERYONE KNEW IT WOULD BE 326 00:19:18,076 --> 00:19:20,877 ONE OF THE MOST PROFITABLE INVENTIONS IN HISTORY. 327 00:19:20,977 --> 00:19:22,276 SO OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS, 328 00:19:22,376 --> 00:19:26,209 BELL HAD TO FIGHT OFF A HUGE NUMBER OF LAWSUITS. 329 00:19:28,343 --> 00:19:30,710 THE CONTROVERSY RAGED ON FOR A DECADE 330 00:19:30,810 --> 00:19:33,476 UNTIL SEPTEMBER 1886 WHEN FISK WILBER, 331 00:19:33,576 --> 00:19:34,977 THE PATENT INSPECTOR, 332 00:19:35,076 --> 00:19:38,710 MADE A SHOCKING ADMISSION UNDER OATH. 333 00:19:38,810 --> 00:19:43,510 HE TESTIFIED THAT HE HAD ACTUALLY SHOWED BELL DRAWINGS 334 00:19:43,610 --> 00:19:45,076 FROM THE GRAY PATENT. 335 00:19:45,176 --> 00:19:47,343 HE HAD SHOWED HIM THAT LIQUID TRANSMITTER 336 00:19:47,443 --> 00:19:48,777 AND EXPLAINED IT TO HIM, 337 00:19:48,877 --> 00:19:51,309 AND THAT'S WHAT ENABLED BELL TO GO BACK 338 00:19:51,410 --> 00:19:53,743 AND ADD THAT TO HIS APPLICATION. 339 00:19:55,109 --> 00:19:58,977 NOT ONLY THAT, HE SAID THAT BELL CAME BACK 340 00:19:59,076 --> 00:20:02,643 AND SLIPPED HIM A CRISP $100 BILL. 341 00:20:02,743 --> 00:20:06,877 AND THEN WILBER WENT AND TOLD HIS SUPERIORS 342 00:20:06,977 --> 00:20:09,643 THAT IN FACT BELL HAD FILED HIS PATENT FIRST. 343 00:20:09,743 --> 00:20:13,510 THINGS WERE LOOKING PRETTY BAD FOR ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL. 344 00:20:13,610 --> 00:20:17,443 BELL'S LAWYERS INVESTIGATED FISK WILBER. 345 00:20:17,543 --> 00:20:20,810 HE WAS A TERRIBLE ALCOHOLIC, DEEPLY IN DEBT, 346 00:20:20,910 --> 00:20:23,943 AND IT APPEARED THAT HE WAS ACTUALLY BEING PAID OFF 347 00:20:24,044 --> 00:20:26,243 BY A RIVAL PHONE COMPANY 348 00:20:26,343 --> 00:20:29,044 THAT WAS INFRINGING ON THE BELL PATENTS 349 00:20:29,143 --> 00:20:33,176 AND WAS TRYING TO GET A FOOTHOLD IN THIS BURGEONING INDUSTRY. 350 00:20:33,276 --> 00:20:36,010 STEWART: IN 1888, THE SUPREME COURT 351 00:20:36,109 --> 00:20:37,943 HAD THE FINAL SAY ON THE MATTER. 352 00:20:38,044 --> 00:20:43,376 THE 7 JUDGES VOTED 4 TO 3 IN BELL'S FAVOR. 353 00:20:45,010 --> 00:20:48,610 BELL WAS NOW OFFICIALLY THE TELEPHONE'S INVENTOR. 354 00:20:48,710 --> 00:20:51,710 MEIGS: THE EVENTS THAT DAY AT THE U.S. PATENT OFFICE 355 00:20:51,810 --> 00:20:54,710 HAVE KICKED OFF MORE THAN A CENTURY OF SPECULATION, 356 00:20:54,810 --> 00:20:58,143 AND THAT HAS LED TO ALL KINDS OF CONSPIRACY THEORIES, 357 00:20:58,243 --> 00:21:02,877 CLAIMS, AND COUNTER CLAIMS THAT ARE STILL BEING ARGUED ABOUT TODAY. 358 00:21:05,076 --> 00:21:06,576 STEWART: THE TELEPHONE'S INVENTION WAS ONE 359 00:21:06,676 --> 00:21:09,977 OF THE GREAT MILESTONES IN THE HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY. 360 00:21:10,076 --> 00:21:12,943 NOW NO MATTER HOW FAR APART WE WERE, 361 00:21:13,044 --> 00:21:16,343 WE COULD STILL TALK TO ONE ANOTHER, 362 00:21:16,443 --> 00:21:19,943 MAKING LONG-DISTANCE COMMUNICATION DIRECT, 363 00:21:20,044 --> 00:21:24,343 CLEAR, AND INSTANTANEOUS FOR THE FIRST TIME. 364 00:21:24,443 --> 00:21:27,209 AND THE CONTROVERSY THAT SURROUNDED THE INVENTION 365 00:21:27,309 --> 00:21:30,710 HAD SHOWN THAT ONCE IDEAS REACH A CRITICAL MASS, 366 00:21:30,810 --> 00:21:34,743 BREAKTHROUGHS BECOME INEVITABLE. 367 00:21:34,843 --> 00:21:38,943 BUT SOMETIMES REVOLUTIONS COME FROM SOMEONE REALIZING 368 00:21:39,044 --> 00:21:40,243 ANOTHER PERSON'S BREAKTHROUGH 369 00:21:40,343 --> 00:21:43,476 HAS AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT APPLICATION. 370 00:21:43,576 --> 00:21:48,443 AND SOMETIMES IT'S SOMETHING ONLY A TEENAGER CAN SEE. 371 00:21:48,543 --> 00:21:54,510 GUGLIELMO MARCONI WAS BORN INTO ITALIAN NOBILITY. 372 00:21:54,610 --> 00:21:58,143 WHILE HE DIDN'T DISPLAY ANY SPECIAL ACADEMIC ABILITY, 373 00:21:58,243 --> 00:22:01,977 HE WAS AN OBSESSIVE INVENTOR. 374 00:22:02,076 --> 00:22:03,610 EVER SINCE HE WAS A SMALL BOY, 375 00:22:03,710 --> 00:22:07,076 HE WAS CONVINCED THAT HE WAS DESTINED FOR GREATNESS. 376 00:22:08,710 --> 00:22:11,810 HE SPENT HIS SUMMER VACATIONS IN LABONO, 377 00:22:11,910 --> 00:22:14,443 A SEASIDE TOWN IN NORTHERN ITALY, 378 00:22:14,543 --> 00:22:16,376 AND BECAME A KEEN SAILOR. 379 00:22:16,476 --> 00:22:20,109 THE STORY GOES THAT DURING ONE SUCH TRIP MARCONI, 380 00:22:20,209 --> 00:22:25,476 NOW 18, READ OF A NEW DISCOVERY IN A POPULAR SCIENCE JOURNAL. 381 00:22:25,576 --> 00:22:27,943 GERMAN PHYSICIST HEINRICH HERTZ, 382 00:22:28,044 --> 00:22:30,576 USING A HIGH-VOLTAGE INDUCTION COIL, 383 00:22:30,676 --> 00:22:32,943 HAD SHOWN THAT IF YOU CREATE AN ARC, 384 00:22:33,043 --> 00:22:35,410 A SPARK BETWEEN TWO ELECTRODES, 385 00:22:35,510 --> 00:22:37,777 YOU WOULD ALSO DETECT A STRONG SURGE 386 00:22:37,877 --> 00:22:42,610 IN ELECTRIC CURRENTS IN A NEARBY RECEIVING CIRCUIT, 387 00:22:42,710 --> 00:22:45,209 PROVING THAT THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES 388 00:22:45,309 --> 00:22:47,777 COULD TRAVEL THROUGH THIN AIR. 389 00:22:47,877 --> 00:22:50,943 HERTZ WROTE, "I DO NOT THINK THAT THE WIRELESS WAVES 390 00:22:51,044 --> 00:22:54,777 I HAVE DISCOVERED WILL HAVE ANY PRACTICAL APPLICATION." 391 00:22:56,109 --> 00:22:59,643 BUT MARCONI HAD DIFFERENT IDEAS. 392 00:23:01,309 --> 00:23:03,777 HE BEGINS TO WONDER MIGHT THERE BE A WAY 393 00:23:03,877 --> 00:23:07,977 TO SEND TELEGRAPH MESSAGES WITHOUT THE NEED FOR WIRES, 394 00:23:08,076 --> 00:23:10,843 TO BECOME WIRELESS. 395 00:23:14,710 --> 00:23:16,877 THIS IS A HUGE REVOLUTIONARY THOUGHT, 396 00:23:16,977 --> 00:23:19,977 SOMETHING THAT NOBODY ELSE HAS DONE. 397 00:23:20,076 --> 00:23:21,977 THAT'S GENIUS. 398 00:23:23,309 --> 00:23:25,010 STEWART: MARCONI'S YOUNG, FERTILE MIND 399 00:23:25,109 --> 00:23:28,810 SAW SOMETHING IN HERTZ'S BREAKTHROUGH OTHERS HADN'T. 400 00:23:30,044 --> 00:23:31,943 HE BEGAN TO EXPERIMENT IN THE ATTIC 401 00:23:32,043 --> 00:23:33,643 OF HIS FAMILY'S GRAND MANSION 402 00:23:33,743 --> 00:23:36,743 HERE ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF BOLOGNA. 403 00:23:36,843 --> 00:23:41,410 A REPLICA OF HIS ORIGINAL SETUP REMAINS TO THIS DAY. 404 00:23:44,410 --> 00:23:46,843 GEORGE: HE'S JUST USING EVERYDAY COMPONENTS 405 00:23:46,943 --> 00:23:48,810 THAT YOU WOULD FIND IN MANY PEOPLE'S LABORATORIES 406 00:23:48,910 --> 00:23:54,476 AT THE TIME--BATTERIES, GLASS TUBES, METAL FILINGS. 407 00:23:55,877 --> 00:23:58,243 STEWART: MARCONI SET UP TWO CIRCUITS. 408 00:23:58,343 --> 00:24:01,977 HE ADDED A SWITCH TO ONE AND A BELL TO THE OTHER 409 00:24:02,076 --> 00:24:05,343 AND PLACED THEM ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE ROOM. 410 00:24:05,443 --> 00:24:06,977 HE FLIPPED THE SWITCHED, 411 00:24:07,076 --> 00:24:09,610 AND THE UNCONNECTED BELL RANG. 412 00:24:09,710 --> 00:24:12,777 [BELL RINGS] 413 00:24:12,877 --> 00:24:16,843 BUT THIS YOUNG MAN HAD MUCH BIGGER IDEAS. 414 00:24:16,943 --> 00:24:18,977 GEORGE: NOW, MARCONI WANTED TO SHOW THAT THIS WASN'T 415 00:24:19,076 --> 00:24:22,743 JUST SOME PARLOR TRICK OVER SHORT DISTANCES INSIDE. 416 00:24:22,843 --> 00:24:25,610 MARCONI KNEW THAT THIS COULD HAVE VALUE 417 00:24:25,710 --> 00:24:28,777 IF YOU COULD COMMUNICATE MUCH LONGER DISTANCES. 418 00:24:28,877 --> 00:24:32,209 SO HE TOOK HIS EQUIPMENT OUTSIDE. 419 00:24:37,410 --> 00:24:39,643 WHAT MARCONI WANTED TO DO IS SEE IF YOU COULD 420 00:24:39,743 --> 00:24:42,943 ACTUALLY PRODUCE RADIO WAVES AND RECEIVE THEM 421 00:24:43,044 --> 00:24:44,710 IN THE REAL WORLD THROUGH THE TREES, 422 00:24:44,810 --> 00:24:46,810 SOMEWHERE WHERE YOU CAN'T ACTUALLY SEE. 423 00:24:48,910 --> 00:24:50,510 SO WHAT WE HAVE HERE 424 00:24:50,610 --> 00:24:54,743 IS MARCONI'S ORIGINAL SETUP FROM HIS ATTIC. 425 00:24:54,843 --> 00:24:56,777 SO WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO IS CONNECT 426 00:24:56,877 --> 00:24:59,810 OUR BIG ANTENNA HERE, 5 MEGAHERTZ ANTENNA, 427 00:24:59,910 --> 00:25:03,443 AND WE'RE GOING TO SEND THE LETTER "S" IN MORSE CODE, 428 00:25:03,543 --> 00:25:05,243 AND WE'RE GOING TO TRY AND RECEIVE 429 00:25:05,343 --> 00:25:08,076 OUR SIGNAL A KILOMETER AWAY. 430 00:25:08,176 --> 00:25:21,443 ♪ 431 00:25:21,543 --> 00:25:24,843 SO RENZO HAS GONE BACK DOWN TO THE TRANSMITTER. 432 00:25:24,943 --> 00:25:29,810 WHAT WE'VE AGREED IS THAT RENZO IS GOING TO TRANSMIT AT 11:45. 433 00:25:29,910 --> 00:25:32,810 SO WE'VE SYNCHRONIZED OUR WATCHES. 434 00:25:37,209 --> 00:25:38,977 [ELECTRICITY ZAPPING] 435 00:25:39,076 --> 00:25:49,676 ♪ 436 00:25:49,777 --> 00:25:52,343 [BELL RINGS] 437 00:25:52,443 --> 00:25:54,910 YES, IT WORKED. 438 00:25:57,410 --> 00:26:01,076 AND THIS IS A MASSIVE TURNING POINT 439 00:26:01,176 --> 00:26:02,810 IN THE HISTORY OF COMMUNICATION. 440 00:26:02,910 --> 00:26:06,010 MARCONI HAS SHOWN THIS ISN'T A PARLOR TRICK ANYMORE. 441 00:26:06,109 --> 00:26:09,109 HE IS OUTSIDE COMMUNICATING. 442 00:26:12,476 --> 00:26:16,109 STEWART: IN SEPTEMBER 1899, MARCONI EQUIPPED 443 00:26:16,209 --> 00:26:20,010 TWO AMERICAN SHIPS WITH WIRELESS TELEGRAPHS 444 00:26:20,109 --> 00:26:22,543 SO NEW YORK NEWSPAPERS COULD REPORT 445 00:26:22,643 --> 00:26:25,510 ON THE PROGRESS OF THE AMERICA'S CUP. 446 00:26:25,610 --> 00:26:29,209 THE FOLLOWING YEAR, HE BEGAN INSTALLING AND OPERATING 447 00:26:29,309 --> 00:26:32,977 WIRELESS TELEGRAPHS ON THOUSANDS OF SHIPS. 448 00:26:33,076 --> 00:26:36,610 HE WAS JUST 26. 449 00:26:36,710 --> 00:26:39,443 BUT THE TRUE TRIUMPH OF MARCONI'S MACHINE 450 00:26:39,543 --> 00:26:45,410 WAS UNDERSCORED IN THE EARLY HOURS OF APRIL 15, 1912. 451 00:26:45,510 --> 00:26:48,643 WHEN THE "TITANIC" HIT AN ICEBERG, 452 00:26:48,743 --> 00:26:50,910 TWO OF MARCONI'S TELEGRAPH OPERATORS 453 00:26:51,010 --> 00:26:55,777 BROADCAST A DISTRESS SIGNAL UNTIL THE SHIP WENT DOWN. 454 00:26:57,476 --> 00:27:01,443 MARCONI'S TELEGRAPH WAS CREDITED WITH SAVING THE LIVES 455 00:27:01,543 --> 00:27:05,276 OF "TITANIC'S" 700 SURVIVORS. 456 00:27:07,109 --> 00:27:08,810 [ELECTRICITY BUZZING] 457 00:27:08,910 --> 00:27:12,676 FROM A SPARK OF INSPIRATION WHILE SAILING WHEN HE WAS 18, 458 00:27:12,777 --> 00:27:17,109 MARCONI HAD GIVEN RADIO COMMUNICATION TO THE WORLD. 459 00:27:20,443 --> 00:27:25,510 RADIO ADVANCED HUGELY OVER THE NEXT TWO DECADES. 460 00:27:25,610 --> 00:27:29,610 SOON PEOPLE WERE TALKING OVER THE AIRWAVES. 461 00:27:29,710 --> 00:27:32,743 [INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER] 462 00:27:34,109 --> 00:27:36,977 BUT ONE MAN WAS ABOUT TO TAKE THE HUMAN VOICE 463 00:27:37,076 --> 00:27:40,743 IN AN ENTIRELY NEW DIRECTION. 464 00:27:44,676 --> 00:27:47,410 IN THE EARLY 1930s, HOMER DUDLEY, 465 00:27:47,510 --> 00:27:49,710 AN ELECTRONIC ENGINEER AT BELL LABS, 466 00:27:49,810 --> 00:27:52,643 WAS TRYING TO WORK OUT HOW TO TRANSMIT SPEECH 467 00:27:52,743 --> 00:27:55,410 DOWN A TRANSATLANTIC CABLE. 468 00:27:55,510 --> 00:28:01,109 THE CABLES LACKED THE BANDWIDTH TO RELAY THE HUMAN VOICE. 469 00:28:06,943 --> 00:28:10,010 MAN: HERE'S A NOTEBOOK WHERE YOU CAN SEE NOTES FROM HOMER 470 00:28:10,109 --> 00:28:12,209 WHERE HE'S DIAGRAMMING THE HUMAN VOCAL TRACT. 471 00:28:12,309 --> 00:28:13,810 RIGHT. HE'S IDENTIFYING ALL THE DIFFERENT 472 00:28:13,910 --> 00:28:15,710 PLACES THAT DIFFERENT SOUNDS ARE CREATED. 473 00:28:15,810 --> 00:28:17,643 EXACTLY. 474 00:28:17,743 --> 00:28:20,676 MAN: THIS WAS ALL NECESSARY SO THAT HE COULD START TO UNDERSTAND 475 00:28:20,777 --> 00:28:24,576 THE FREQUENCIES AND WHAT THE HUMAN VOICE WAS ACTUALLY PRODUCING. 476 00:28:25,710 --> 00:28:27,309 MEIGS: WHAT'S SO FASCINATING 477 00:28:27,410 --> 00:28:28,977 LOOKING THROUGH DUDLEY'S NOTEBOOKS 478 00:28:29,076 --> 00:28:32,143 IS HE DIDN'T SEE THE PROBLEM OF CONDENSING SPEECH 479 00:28:32,243 --> 00:28:34,710 FOR A TELEPHONE AS AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM. 480 00:28:34,810 --> 00:28:38,977 HE SPENT YEARS ANALYZING THE HUMAN VOICE ITSELF. 481 00:28:39,076 --> 00:28:42,610 MAN: BY STUDYING VOCAL CHORDS IN THAT MUCH DETAIL, 482 00:28:42,710 --> 00:28:45,610 HE STARTED TO REALIZE HOW YOU COULD BREAK UP THE HUMAN VOICE 483 00:28:45,710 --> 00:28:47,576 INTO THE PARTS THAT YOU JUST NEEDED 484 00:28:47,676 --> 00:28:49,476 TO UNDERSTAND IT AT THE OTHER END. 485 00:28:50,843 --> 00:28:52,943 [OVERLAPPING VOICES] 486 00:28:58,076 --> 00:29:01,977 STEWART: DUDLEY REALIZED HE COULD SLICE UP SPEECH ELECTRONICALLY 487 00:29:02,076 --> 00:29:05,743 INTO THE DISTINCT SOUNDS THAT CONVEY A WORD'S MEANING. 488 00:29:05,843 --> 00:29:07,777 THIS WOULD TAKE UP MUCH LESS SPACE 489 00:29:07,877 --> 00:29:11,010 WHEN A WORD WAS TRANSMITTED DOWN A WIRE. 490 00:29:12,676 --> 00:29:15,877 HE CALLED HIS INVENTION A VOCODER, 491 00:29:15,977 --> 00:29:18,044 SHORT FOR VOICE CODER. 492 00:29:18,143 --> 00:29:22,676 MEIGS: YOU DON'T NEED ALL THE SOUND ASSOCIATED WITH THE SPEECH. 493 00:29:22,777 --> 00:29:25,410 YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE COMPONENTS OF SPEECH 494 00:29:25,510 --> 00:29:27,209 THAT REALLY CARRY THE MEANING. 495 00:29:27,309 --> 00:29:28,910 IF YOU CAN JUST SEND THOSE, 496 00:29:29,010 --> 00:29:33,777 YOU CAN SEND THAT SIGNAL MUCH MORE EFFICIENTLY. 497 00:29:33,877 --> 00:29:37,676 STEWART: BREAKING SPEECH INTO SOUNDS GAVE DUDLEY ANOTHER IDEA. 498 00:29:37,777 --> 00:29:40,176 MAYBE IT WAS POSSIBLE TO CREATE SPEECH 499 00:29:40,276 --> 00:29:43,376 WITHOUT THE NEED FOR A HUMAN VOICE AT ALL. 500 00:29:45,076 --> 00:29:47,610 DUDLEY'S BREAKTHROUGHS WOULDN'T SOLVE THE PROBLEM 501 00:29:47,710 --> 00:29:49,977 OF TRANSATLANTIC PHONE CALLS, 502 00:29:50,076 --> 00:29:54,143 BUT IT WILL HAVE PROFOUND REPERCUSSIONS FOR HUMANKIND. 503 00:29:54,243 --> 00:29:59,843 [ELECTRONIC VOICES] 504 00:29:59,943 --> 00:30:00,977 DOUG, HI. 505 00:30:01,076 --> 00:30:02,777 HI, JIM. HI, PLEASURE TO MEET YOU. 506 00:30:02,877 --> 00:30:04,877 GREAT TO MEET YOU. SO THIS IS YOUR REPLICA OF THE FAMOUS VODER? 507 00:30:04,977 --> 00:30:08,309 THIS IS A REPRODUCTION OF THE ORIGINAL WITH MODERN ELECTRONICS. 508 00:30:08,410 --> 00:30:13,576 EACH ONE OF THESE KEYS UNDER MY FINGERS HERE IS A DIFFERENT BAND. 509 00:30:13,676 --> 00:30:17,843 EACH BAND WOULD BE ASSOCIATED WITH A FREQUENCY. 510 00:30:17,943 --> 00:30:20,076 AND IF YOU PLAY THEM IN THE RIGHT ORDER 511 00:30:20,176 --> 00:30:21,743 AND IN THE RIGHT COMBINATIONS, 512 00:30:21,843 --> 00:30:24,410 YOU CAN ACTUALLY GET IT TO MIMIC HUMAN SPEECH. 513 00:30:24,510 --> 00:30:25,910 CAN I TAKE A SPIN AT IT? 514 00:30:26,010 --> 00:30:27,209 OH, BY ALL MEANS. 515 00:30:27,309 --> 00:30:28,143 OK, I'LL-- 516 00:30:28,143 --> 00:30:28,243 HERE YOU GO. 517 00:30:28,243 --> 00:30:29,943 HERE GOES NOTHING. 518 00:30:30,044 --> 00:30:33,243 STEWART: BELL LABS SHOWCASED DUDLEY'S TALKING MACHINE 519 00:30:33,343 --> 00:30:36,476 AT THE 1939 NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR. 520 00:30:36,576 --> 00:30:39,376 IT BECAME A HUGE HIT. 521 00:30:39,476 --> 00:30:42,010 [ELECTRONIC VOICES] 522 00:30:48,010 --> 00:30:51,543 MEIGS: DUDLEY'S VODER WAS A VERY EXCITING EXHIBIT. 523 00:30:51,643 --> 00:30:54,710 A PERSON COULD ACTUALLY SIT AT A KEYBOARD 524 00:30:54,810 --> 00:30:56,376 AND CREATE SPEECH. 525 00:30:56,476 --> 00:30:58,443 MAN: SAY, "SHE SAW ME." 526 00:30:58,543 --> 00:31:00,710 MACHINE: SHE SAW ME. 527 00:31:00,810 --> 00:31:04,777 MEIGS: YOU CAN LITERALLY TALK THROUGH YOUR HANDS USING THIS MACHINE. 528 00:31:04,877 --> 00:31:06,877 MAN: NOW SAY IT IN ANSWER TO THESE QUESTIONS. 529 00:31:06,977 --> 00:31:08,209 WHO SAW YOU? 530 00:31:08,309 --> 00:31:09,576 MACHINE: SHE SAW ME. 531 00:31:09,676 --> 00:31:13,943 WHO DID SHE SEE? 532 00:31:13,943 --> 00:31:14,044 SHE SAW ME. 533 00:31:14,044 --> 00:31:15,910 MEIGS: SO IT WAS A BIG HIT AT THE WORLD'S FAIR, 534 00:31:16,010 --> 00:31:17,309 BUT IT DOESN'T REALLY HAVE THAT MUCH 535 00:31:17,410 --> 00:31:19,943 COMMERCIAL APPLICATION AT THIS POINT. 536 00:31:20,044 --> 00:31:22,543 UM. [BONK] 537 00:31:22,643 --> 00:31:25,610 FOR ONE THING, IT WAS INCREDIBLY HARD TO OPERATE, 538 00:31:25,710 --> 00:31:28,410 AND EVEN THEN, THE RESULTS REALLY WEREN'T PERFECT. 539 00:31:28,510 --> 00:31:30,543 [ELECTRONIC SOUNDS] 540 00:31:30,643 --> 00:31:33,376 IT ALMOST SOUNDS LIKE SOMEBODY MUMBLING ANYWAY. 541 00:31:33,476 --> 00:31:34,943 IT'S A GOOD MUMBLE. 542 00:31:35,044 --> 00:31:36,109 MEIGS: SO IT WAS KIND OF SITTING 543 00:31:36,209 --> 00:31:38,044 ON THE SHELF AT BELL LABS, 544 00:31:38,143 --> 00:31:41,044 BUT THEN ALONG COMES WORLD WAR II. 545 00:31:46,143 --> 00:31:48,676 THE JAPANESE ATTACK PEARL HARBOR. 546 00:31:48,777 --> 00:31:52,343 THE U.S. JOINS WITH ITS ALLY BRITAIN, 547 00:31:52,443 --> 00:31:54,209 AND THEY REALIZE THAT WESTERN CIVILIZATION 548 00:31:54,309 --> 00:31:55,910 IS IN FOR THE FIGHT OF ITS LIFE, 549 00:31:56,010 --> 00:31:58,643 AND IN ORDER TO CONDUCT THAT FIGHT, THEY NEEDED TO BE ABLE 550 00:31:58,743 --> 00:32:03,044 TO COMMUNICATE IN SECRET AROUND THE WORLD. 551 00:32:06,076 --> 00:32:08,743 ALL OF THE SUDDEN, DUDLEY'S VODER TECHNOLOGY 552 00:32:08,843 --> 00:32:11,376 LOOKS VERY EXCITING. 553 00:32:11,476 --> 00:32:14,810 THE MILITARY REALIZED IT COULD BE THE FOUNDATION 554 00:32:14,910 --> 00:32:17,977 OF A MUCH MORE ADVANCED AND MUCH MORE SECURE SYSTEM 555 00:32:18,076 --> 00:32:19,710 FOR ENCRYPTED COMMUNICATIONS. 556 00:32:19,810 --> 00:32:25,276 STEWART: IN DECEMBER 1941, BRITISH INTELLIGENCE DISCOVERED 557 00:32:25,376 --> 00:32:28,443 THAT NAZI CODE BREAKERS WERE INTERCEPTING 558 00:32:28,543 --> 00:32:30,643 ROOSEVELT AND CHURCHILL'S CALLS. 559 00:32:30,743 --> 00:32:34,543 HITLER WAS READING THEIR EVERY WORD. 560 00:32:34,643 --> 00:32:38,977 SECURING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN WASHINGTON AND LONDON 561 00:32:39,076 --> 00:32:41,977 WAS OF THE UTMOST URGENCY. 562 00:32:42,076 --> 00:32:45,943 WORK BEGAN ON A TOP SECRET ENCRYPTED TELEPHONE SYSTEM 563 00:32:46,044 --> 00:32:48,676 CODENAMED SIGSALY. 564 00:32:48,777 --> 00:32:51,777 THEY ENLISTED SOME OF THE WORLD'S MOST BRILLIANT MINDS, 565 00:32:51,877 --> 00:32:54,910 INCLUDING BRITISH POLYMATH ALAN TURING, 566 00:32:55,010 --> 00:32:58,443 WHO HAD JUST HELPED CRACK THE ENIGMA CODE. 567 00:32:58,543 --> 00:33:01,343 MEIGS: THE FIRST STEP WAS TO ANALYZE THE SPEECH ITSELF 568 00:33:01,443 --> 00:33:04,676 AND BREAK IT DOWN TO SOMETHING MORE LIKE A CODE. 569 00:33:04,777 --> 00:33:08,010 STEWART: USING DUDLEY'S VOCODER TECHNOLOGY, 570 00:33:08,109 --> 00:33:11,943 THEY SLICED UP SPEECH INTO NUMBERS. 571 00:33:12,044 --> 00:33:15,010 MEIGS: WHAT WAS SO BRILLIANT ABOUT CONVERTING HUMAN SPEECH, 572 00:33:15,109 --> 00:33:16,977 THE WAVEFORM, INTO NUMBERS 573 00:33:17,076 --> 00:33:19,309 IS THAT NUMBERS ARE EASILY SCRAMBLED. 574 00:33:19,410 --> 00:33:21,176 YOU CAN EASILY COME UP WITH A SYSTEM 575 00:33:21,276 --> 00:33:23,443 TO MAKE THOSE NUMBERS LOOK RANDOM. 576 00:33:23,543 --> 00:33:27,443 STEWART: A SECOND RANDOM SOUND WAS ADDED TO THE SIGNAL 577 00:33:27,543 --> 00:33:29,743 THAT SCRAMBLED THE VOICE... 578 00:33:29,843 --> 00:33:31,476 [ELECTRONIC SOUNDS] 579 00:33:31,576 --> 00:33:36,943 AND THEN SUBTRACTED AT THE RECEIVING END OF THE CONVERSATION, 580 00:33:37,044 --> 00:33:39,309 UNSCRAMBLING THE MESSAGE. 581 00:33:39,410 --> 00:33:41,410 THE CONVERSATION WOULD BE SECURE 582 00:33:41,510 --> 00:33:45,176 AS LONG AS BOTH MACHINES WERE SYNCHRONIZED. 583 00:33:47,910 --> 00:33:51,043 MEIGS: THE AMAZING THING ABOUT THE SIGSALY COMMUNICATION SYSTEM 584 00:33:51,143 --> 00:33:53,810 WAS JUST HOW COMPLICATED IT WAS. 585 00:33:53,910 --> 00:33:55,743 50 TONS OF EQUIPMENT, 586 00:33:55,843 --> 00:33:59,044 AN ARMY OF PEOPLE TO OPERATE A HUGE AMOUNT OF ELECTRIC POWER. 587 00:33:59,143 --> 00:34:01,510 IT WAS INSANELY DETAILED 588 00:34:01,610 --> 00:34:03,943 TO ACHIEVE SOMETHING SEEMINGLY SIMPLE-- 589 00:34:04,044 --> 00:34:08,376 TWO PEOPLE TALKING TO EACH OTHER IN REAL TIME. 590 00:34:08,476 --> 00:34:13,043 I SERIOUSLY DOUBT THAT THIS MASSIVE EXPENDITURE OF EFFORT AND RESOURCE 591 00:34:13,143 --> 00:34:14,977 AND TIME AND MONEY AND TALENT 592 00:34:15,076 --> 00:34:19,977 WOULD HAVE EVER HAPPENED IF IT WEREN'T FOR THE EXTREME NEED 593 00:34:20,076 --> 00:34:22,276 FOR COMMUNICATION IN WARTIME. 594 00:34:22,376 --> 00:34:26,710 STEWART: SIGSALY WAS THE WORLD'S FIRST ENCRYPTED WIRELESS TELEPHONE, 595 00:34:26,810 --> 00:34:31,309 AND ROOSEVELT AND CHURCHILL USED IT FROM JULY 1943. 596 00:34:31,410 --> 00:34:34,443 THE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE DIRECTLY, 597 00:34:34,543 --> 00:34:38,010 AND IN SECRET, PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE 598 00:34:38,109 --> 00:34:41,943 IN SAVING CIVILIZATION FROM FASCISM. 599 00:34:42,044 --> 00:34:45,343 SIGSALY WAS NEVER CRACKED. 600 00:34:46,676 --> 00:34:47,777 MEIGS: THE SIGSALY SYSTEM WASN'T JUST 601 00:34:47,877 --> 00:34:50,209 AN AMAZINGLY COMPLICATED RADIO TELEPHONE. 602 00:34:50,309 --> 00:34:53,510 BECAUSE THE DATA WAS TRANSMITTED IN DISCREET BITS, 603 00:34:53,610 --> 00:34:57,543 IT WAS REALLY THE FIRST DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE. 604 00:34:59,576 --> 00:35:02,676 THE REVOLUTION OF DIGITAL MEANS TAKING COMPLICATED THINGS, 605 00:35:02,777 --> 00:35:05,676 REDUCING THEM TO SIMPLE NUMBERS THAT THEN ALLOW YOU 606 00:35:05,777 --> 00:35:08,076 TO RECONSTITUTE THAT COMPLICATED THING 607 00:35:08,176 --> 00:35:10,076 IN ANOTHER TIME OR PLACE. 608 00:35:11,576 --> 00:35:14,076 STEWART: WHILE SIGSALY MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR TWO PEOPLE 609 00:35:14,176 --> 00:35:17,309 TO HAVE AN ENCRYPTED CONVERSATION, 610 00:35:17,410 --> 00:35:20,810 TO TRANSMIT THOUSANDS OF CONVERSATIONS AT ONCE 611 00:35:20,910 --> 00:35:24,109 MEANT WORKING OUT HOW TO BREAK THOSE CONVERSATIONS 612 00:35:24,209 --> 00:35:26,543 INTO THOUSANDS OF PIECES, 613 00:35:26,643 --> 00:35:31,309 AND PUTTING EACH ONE BACK TOGETHER AGAIN IN THE RIGHT WAY. 614 00:35:35,410 --> 00:35:38,977 AND THAT WOULD TAKE A HOLLYWOOD STARLET 615 00:35:39,076 --> 00:35:40,743 AND A PIANO. 616 00:35:43,810 --> 00:35:49,977 WOMAN: IN THE EARLY 1940s, HEDY LAMARR IS A NATIONAL SENSATION. 617 00:35:50,076 --> 00:35:51,643 I FEEL A LITTLE CONFUSED, 618 00:35:51,743 --> 00:35:54,943 BUT I'M GLAD YOU LIKE IT. 619 00:35:55,044 --> 00:35:59,610 LE: SHE'S LABELED AS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN THE WORLD. 620 00:36:03,309 --> 00:36:05,610 STEWART: BUT AWAY FROM THE SILVER SCREEN, 621 00:36:05,710 --> 00:36:09,943 HEDY LED A DOUBLE LIFE AS AN INVENTOR. 622 00:36:14,543 --> 00:36:17,343 LE: AS AN INVENTOR, AS AN ENTREPRENEUR, 623 00:36:17,443 --> 00:36:19,510 AND ALSO AS AN IMMIGRANT REFUGEE, 624 00:36:19,610 --> 00:36:23,410 I AM SO FASCINATED BY THIS INCREDIBLE WOMAN 625 00:36:23,510 --> 00:36:27,043 WHO HERSELF IS AN INVENTOR AND AN IMMIGRANT 626 00:36:27,143 --> 00:36:29,977 AND IN MANY WAYS A PIONEER. 627 00:36:30,076 --> 00:36:32,977 STEWART: HEDY INVENTED A DISSOLVABLE TABLET 628 00:36:33,076 --> 00:36:35,743 THAT TURNED WATER INTO COLA. 629 00:36:35,843 --> 00:36:40,076 INSPIRED BY BIRDS AND FISH, SHE STREAMLINED PLANE WINGS 630 00:36:40,176 --> 00:36:42,576 SO THEY COULD FLY FASTER. 631 00:36:47,044 --> 00:36:51,143 BUT IT WAS HER TROUBLED PAST THAT WOULD ULTIMATELY LEAD HER 632 00:36:51,243 --> 00:36:54,777 TO INVENT A CRITICAL PART OF THE SMARTPHONE. 633 00:36:56,044 --> 00:36:58,643 OHH! HOW ARE YOU? 634 00:36:58,743 --> 00:37:01,209 THANK YOU. 635 00:37:01,209 --> 00:37:01,309 IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU. 636 00:37:01,309 --> 00:37:05,209 THIS IS MY MOTHER WHEN SHE WAS A CHILD IN VIENNA, AUSTRIA. 637 00:37:05,309 --> 00:37:07,010 OH, WOW. 638 00:37:07,109 --> 00:37:08,810 THIS IS HER AS A LITTLE BABY GIRL. 639 00:37:08,910 --> 00:37:12,476 STEWART: HEDY WAS BORN INTO A WEALTHY JEWISH FAMILY IN VIENNA, 640 00:37:12,576 --> 00:37:16,810 AND AT AN EARLY AGE, SHE SHOWED A LOVE FOR INVENTION. 641 00:37:18,743 --> 00:37:20,309 HER FATHER FILLED HER INQUISITIVE MIND 642 00:37:20,410 --> 00:37:23,977 WITH EXPLANATIONS OF EVERYDAY OBJECTS. 643 00:37:24,076 --> 00:37:27,510 NOBODY COULD HAVE IMAGINED THAT THIS LITTLE GIRL 644 00:37:27,610 --> 00:37:30,176 WOULD GROW UP TO BECOME HOLLYWOOD'S LEADING LADY. 645 00:37:30,276 --> 00:37:33,010 DIRECTOR: CUT. THANK YOU, HEDY. 646 00:37:33,109 --> 00:37:35,543 THAT'S A WRAP FOR TODAY. 647 00:37:35,643 --> 00:37:39,810 STEWART: BUT HER JOURNEY WAS A LONG AND TROUBLED ONE. 648 00:37:39,910 --> 00:37:46,010 IN 1933, AGED JUST 19, SHE MARRIED FRITZ MANDL, 649 00:37:46,109 --> 00:37:51,243 AN AUSTRIAN AMMUNITIONS TYCOON WHO HAD LINKS WITH THE NAZIS. 650 00:37:51,343 --> 00:37:53,243 ["WEDDING MARCH" PLAYING] 651 00:37:53,343 --> 00:37:55,843 [APPLAUSE] 652 00:37:57,977 --> 00:38:00,977 HEDY WOULD WITNESS SECRET DISCUSSIONS 653 00:38:01,076 --> 00:38:04,710 ABOUT MILITARY TECHNOLOGY. 654 00:38:04,810 --> 00:38:08,076 MANDL WAS SO POSSESSIVE OF HIS BEAUTIFUL WIFE, 655 00:38:08,176 --> 00:38:11,343 THAT IT WAS MORE THAN HEDY COULD BEAR. 656 00:38:15,109 --> 00:38:17,977 A YEAR BEFORE THE NAZI OCCUPATION OF AUSTRIA, 657 00:38:18,076 --> 00:38:22,443 HEDY FLED FOR LONDON. 658 00:38:22,543 --> 00:38:26,076 AND THEN ONTO HOLLYWOOD... 659 00:38:27,576 --> 00:38:29,843 WHERE SHE BECAME A STAR. 660 00:38:29,943 --> 00:38:41,743 ♪ 661 00:38:41,843 --> 00:38:46,476 BY 1940, HEDY LAMARR IS SURROUNDED BY GLAMOUR AND SUCCESS, 662 00:38:46,576 --> 00:38:50,810 BUT SHE DOESN'T FORGET HER LOVE OF APPLIED SCIENCE. 663 00:38:50,910 --> 00:38:53,843 IN 1941, HEDY APPLIED THIS SKILL 664 00:38:53,943 --> 00:38:56,810 TO TURN THE TIDE ON WORLD WAR II. 665 00:39:00,010 --> 00:39:04,977 IN THE 1940s, HITLER IS WINNING THE WAR IN EUROPE. 666 00:39:07,510 --> 00:39:11,410 HIS U-BOATS ALL BUT CONTROL THE ATLANTIC. 667 00:39:13,777 --> 00:39:17,044 HUNDREDS OF INNOCENT CIVILIANS DIE AS ALLIED SHIPS 668 00:39:17,143 --> 00:39:21,076 ARE SUNK ON AN ALMOST DAILY BASIS. 669 00:39:23,676 --> 00:39:26,476 THE PROBLEM IS U-BOATS ARE FAST AND AGILE, 670 00:39:26,576 --> 00:39:29,977 AND THE ALLIED TORPEDOES ARE NOT VERY ACCURATE. 671 00:39:31,610 --> 00:39:33,476 AMERICA IS STILL NEUTRAL, 672 00:39:33,576 --> 00:39:37,576 BUT HEDY IS DESPERATE TO HELP FIGHT THE NAZIS. 673 00:39:37,676 --> 00:39:40,309 SHE WROTE, "I TRIED TO THINK OF SOME WAY 674 00:39:40,410 --> 00:39:42,610 "TO EVEN THE BALANCE FOR THE BRITISH. 675 00:39:42,710 --> 00:39:47,743 A RADIO-CONTROLLED TORPEDO, I THOUGHT, WOULD DO IT." 676 00:39:49,943 --> 00:39:52,543 STEWART: A TORPEDO THAT CAN ADJUST ITS TRAJECTORY 677 00:39:52,643 --> 00:39:55,076 WOULD CERTAINLY INCREASE ITS ACCURACY, 678 00:39:55,176 --> 00:39:56,943 BUT THERE WAS A PROBLEM. 679 00:39:58,510 --> 00:40:00,977 RADIO COMMUNICATIONS WEREN'T SECURE. 680 00:40:01,076 --> 00:40:04,243 GERMAN U-BOATS COULD EASILY JAM THE FREQUENCY, 681 00:40:04,343 --> 00:40:07,044 DISABLING THE TORPEDO BEFORE IMPACT. 682 00:40:10,243 --> 00:40:15,109 MAN: MY MOTHER SAID, "IF I CAN MAKE RADIO TRANSMISSIONS PRIVATE, 683 00:40:15,209 --> 00:40:21,777 THEN THEY CAN BE USED TO ALTER THE COURSE OF TORPEDOES SECURELY." 684 00:40:21,877 --> 00:40:26,476 AND SHE CAME UP WITH FREQUENCY HOPPING. 685 00:40:27,877 --> 00:40:30,943 STEWART: THE IDEA WAS STRAIGHTFORWARD, AT LEAST. 686 00:40:31,043 --> 00:40:33,643 [INDISTINCT RADIO ANNOUNCEMENTS] 687 00:40:33,743 --> 00:40:37,543 LE: INSTEAD OF SENDING A SIGNAL DOWN ONE SINGLE FREQUENCY BAND, 688 00:40:37,643 --> 00:40:40,276 SHE BREAKS UP THE SIGNAL AND SENDS IT 689 00:40:40,376 --> 00:40:42,376 ACROSS MULTIPLE FREQUENCY BANDS, 690 00:40:42,476 --> 00:40:45,810 AND THAT MAKES IT REALLY HARD TO INTERCEPT. 691 00:40:45,910 --> 00:40:49,510 STEWART: ANYONE LISTENING FOR A SIGNAL ON A SINGLE, GIVEN FREQUENCY 692 00:40:49,610 --> 00:40:51,910 WOULD ONLY HEAR A BLIP, 693 00:40:52,010 --> 00:40:54,044 MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO JAM. 694 00:40:54,143 --> 00:40:57,510 BUT AS LONG AS THE SENDER AND RECEIVER ARE SYNCHRONIZED, 695 00:40:57,610 --> 00:40:59,943 THE SIGNAL MAKES PERFECT SENSE. 696 00:41:00,044 --> 00:41:04,977 ALL HEDY NEEDED WAS A MECHANISM TO IMPLEMENT HER IDEA, 697 00:41:05,076 --> 00:41:06,276 AND THAT WOULD TAKE AN ENCOUNTER 698 00:41:06,376 --> 00:41:10,343 WITH A HOLLYWOOD COMPOSER AND A PLAYER PIANO. 699 00:41:11,910 --> 00:41:14,343 GEORGE ANTHEIL WAS FAMOUS FOR EXPERIMENTING 700 00:41:14,443 --> 00:41:19,576 WITH PLAYER PIANOS THAT PLAYED PREARRANGED MUSICAL SCORES. 701 00:41:21,777 --> 00:41:24,176 HOLES WERE PUNCHED INTO A PAPER DRUM 702 00:41:24,276 --> 00:41:28,610 WITH 88 COLUMNS, ONE COLUMN FOR EACH NOTE. 703 00:41:29,643 --> 00:41:31,010 WHEN ALL THE COLUMNS PLAYED BACK, 704 00:41:31,109 --> 00:41:34,143 THE FULL ARRANGEMENT PLAYED OUT. 705 00:41:38,743 --> 00:41:42,076 HEDY REALIZED THAT SHE COULD APPLY A SIMILAR TECHNIQUE 706 00:41:42,176 --> 00:41:45,543 TO IMPLEMENT HER CHANNEL HOPPING IDEA. 707 00:41:48,010 --> 00:41:49,610 SHE WROTE HER NAME IN LIPSTICK 708 00:41:49,710 --> 00:41:52,276 ON THE WINDSHIELD OF HIS CAR AS SHE LEFT, 709 00:41:52,376 --> 00:41:56,543 AND SHE SAID, "CALL ME." SO HE DID, AND HE CAME OVER. 710 00:41:56,643 --> 00:42:00,343 STEWART: HEDY AND GEORGE QUICKLY SKETCHED OUT THEIR IDEA. 711 00:42:00,443 --> 00:42:03,977 A TRANSMITTER SENDS SIGNALS TO A TRANSMITTER ON THE TORPEDO, 712 00:42:04,076 --> 00:42:08,977 CONTINUOUSLY HOPPING BETWEEN DIFFERENT RADIO FREQUENCIES. 713 00:42:09,076 --> 00:42:13,076 THEY CALLED IT A SPREAD SPECTRUM GUIDANCE SYSTEM. 714 00:42:17,910 --> 00:42:21,410 SO, TAN, ONE OF THE MOST PRECIOUS THINGS I HAVE 715 00:42:21,510 --> 00:42:25,376 IS THIS LITTLE TINY PIECE OF PAPER. 716 00:42:27,076 --> 00:42:29,910 THIS IS THE SEMINAL MOMENT 717 00:42:30,010 --> 00:42:34,743 THAT THIS CONCEPT WAS DRAWN ON PAPER, 718 00:42:34,843 --> 00:42:38,076 AND IT'S THE BACK OF AN ENVELOPE. 719 00:42:38,176 --> 00:42:39,943 IT'S LIKE THEY CAME UP WITH THE IDEA, 720 00:42:40,044 --> 00:42:43,243 AND THEY HAD TO FIND SOMETHING TO QUICKLY JOT IT DOWN 721 00:42:43,343 --> 00:42:45,943 SO THEY WOULDN'T LOSE THE IDEA, 722 00:42:46,044 --> 00:42:49,610 THAT SPARK OF THE INVENTION. 723 00:42:49,710 --> 00:42:53,810 THIS IS THE FIRST IMAGE OF A COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM, 724 00:42:53,910 --> 00:42:56,977 WHICH IS SECRET, IT'S PRIVATE, NOBODY CAN JAM THAT. 725 00:42:57,076 --> 00:43:00,010 NOBODY CAN FIGURE OUT WHERE YOU'RE JUMPING TO NEXT. 726 00:43:00,109 --> 00:43:03,443 ABSOLUTELY. IT'S AMAZING. 727 00:43:05,710 --> 00:43:08,977 STEWART: HEDY AND GEORGE PRESENTED THEIR SPREAD SPECTRUM TECHNOLOGY 728 00:43:09,076 --> 00:43:10,977 TO THE NAVY. 729 00:43:11,076 --> 00:43:15,877 BUT THEIR PATENT WAS SCOFFED AT AND TURNED DOWN. 730 00:43:15,977 --> 00:43:18,977 HEDY HELPED THE WAR EFFORT SELLING WAR BONDS INSTEAD. 731 00:43:19,076 --> 00:43:22,376 TV ANNOUNCER: AMERICA'S WAR BOND CAMPAIGN IS IN FULL SWING, 732 00:43:22,476 --> 00:43:23,977 AND IT'S NOT SURPRISING TO FIND 733 00:43:24,076 --> 00:43:25,476 THAT HEDY LAMARR IS A BEST SELLER. 734 00:43:25,576 --> 00:43:27,710 WHEN THIS PICTURE WAS TAKEN AT NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, 735 00:43:27,810 --> 00:43:31,743 SHE TOLD US THAT HER RECORD WAS $3.5 MILLION WORTH TO DATE. 736 00:43:31,843 --> 00:43:34,943 LE: I THINK HEDY REALLY STRUGGLED TO FIND A BALANCE 737 00:43:35,044 --> 00:43:37,243 BETWEEN HOW SHE SAW HERSELF, 738 00:43:37,343 --> 00:43:39,576 WHICH WAS AS SOMEONE WHO HAD INTELLECT 739 00:43:39,676 --> 00:43:41,676 WHO HAPPENED TO BE BEAUTIFUL, 740 00:43:41,777 --> 00:43:43,376 AND HOW THE WORLD SAW HER, 741 00:43:43,476 --> 00:43:46,044 WHICH WAS ONLY AS A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN. 742 00:43:50,877 --> 00:43:53,143 NARRATOR: HEDY'S SPREAD SPECTRUM GUIDANCE SYSTEM 743 00:43:53,243 --> 00:43:59,109 WAS EVENTUALLY ADOPTED IN SECRET DURING THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS. 744 00:43:59,209 --> 00:44:04,209 BUT THE U.S. MILITARY DIDN'T CREDIT HER FOR THE INVENTION. 745 00:44:07,977 --> 00:44:11,610 BUT WHEN IT WAS FINALLY DECLASSIFIED IN THE EARLY 1980s, 746 00:44:11,710 --> 00:44:16,276 IT WOULD PLAY A KEY PART IN THE CREATION OF THE SMARTPHONE. 747 00:44:17,710 --> 00:44:20,643 LE: HEDY'S SPREAD SPECTRUM TECHNOLOGY IS VITAL 748 00:44:20,743 --> 00:44:22,843 TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF CELLULAR NETWORKS. 749 00:44:22,943 --> 00:44:25,643 IT ALLOWS A MUCH LARGER CONCENTRATION OF USERS 750 00:44:25,743 --> 00:44:28,877 TO BE ON THE SAME NETWORK AT THE SAME TIME. 751 00:44:28,977 --> 00:44:31,309 STEWART: MUCH LIKE HEDY LAMARR ENVISIONED, 752 00:44:31,410 --> 00:44:33,943 IT WORKS BY BREAKING EACH CONVERSATION 753 00:44:34,043 --> 00:44:35,810 DOWN INTO THOUSANDS OF PIECES 754 00:44:35,910 --> 00:44:39,576 AND TRANSMITTING THESE BITS ACROSS MULTIPLE FREQUENCIES 755 00:44:39,676 --> 00:44:42,543 BEFORE PUTTING EACH ONE BACK TOGETHER AGAIN 756 00:44:42,643 --> 00:44:45,276 IN THE RIGHT WAY AT THE RECEIVING END. 757 00:44:45,376 --> 00:44:48,476 THIS MADE THE CELL NETWORK POSSIBLE, 758 00:44:48,576 --> 00:44:50,977 AND IT'S THE REASON WE CAN TRANSMIT 759 00:44:51,076 --> 00:44:54,610 BILLIONS OF MEGABYTES OF DATA TODAY. 760 00:44:58,843 --> 00:45:02,209 BUT TO SHIFT ALL THIS DATA FROM A DEVICE 761 00:45:02,309 --> 00:45:03,943 THAT FITS INTO THE PALM OF YOUR HAND 762 00:45:04,044 --> 00:45:07,977 CLEARLY REQUIRED ANOTHER GIGANTIC LEAP. 763 00:45:08,076 --> 00:45:11,243 IN FACT, IF IT WASN'T FOR ONE MAN WHO STAYED AT WORK 764 00:45:11,343 --> 00:45:13,176 WHEN EVERYONE ELSE WAS ON VACATION, 765 00:45:13,276 --> 00:45:16,476 WE MAY NEVER HAVE HAD SO MANY ELECTRICAL DEVICES 766 00:45:16,576 --> 00:45:18,143 WE NOW TAKE FOR GRANTED, 767 00:45:18,243 --> 00:45:20,977 NEVER MIND THE SMARTPHONE. 768 00:45:21,076 --> 00:45:33,676 ♪ 769 00:45:33,777 --> 00:45:36,176 AS MANY OF THE STAFF OF TEXAS INSTRUMENTS 770 00:45:36,276 --> 00:45:39,543 SET OFF ON THEIR SUMMER VACATIONS IN JULY 1958, 771 00:45:39,643 --> 00:45:43,943 ELECTRONICS ENGINEER JACK KILBY STAYED PUT. 772 00:45:44,044 --> 00:45:47,376 AS A NEW EMPLOYEE, HE WASN'T ALLOWED TO TAKE TIME OFF. 773 00:45:47,476 --> 00:45:50,109 LEFT ALONE, KILBY SET TO WORK 774 00:45:50,209 --> 00:45:54,143 ON A PROJECT OF PERSONAL INTEREST. 775 00:45:54,243 --> 00:45:56,943 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS HAD RELEASED THEIR FIRST 776 00:45:57,044 --> 00:45:59,810 TRANSISTOR RADIO IN 1954. 777 00:45:59,910 --> 00:46:04,977 THE REGENCY TR1, AS IT WAS CALLED, HAD CAUSED A STIR. 778 00:46:05,076 --> 00:46:09,010 USING TRANSISTORS IN THE ELECTRONICS INSTEAD OF VALVES, 779 00:46:09,109 --> 00:46:13,710 THE TR1 HAD TRANSFORMED THE RADIO FROM A BULKY PIECE OF FURNITURE 780 00:46:13,810 --> 00:46:18,076 INTO THE FIRST PORTABLE ENTERTAINMENT DEVICE. 781 00:46:21,777 --> 00:46:25,309 KILBY REALIZED THAT THIS MINIATURIZATION MADE IT POSSIBLE 782 00:46:25,410 --> 00:46:27,510 TO BUILD MORE COMPLEX MACHINES. 783 00:46:27,610 --> 00:46:29,843 BUT THERE WAS A PROBLEM. 784 00:46:29,943 --> 00:46:33,977 WHEN AN ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT REACHED A CERTAIN LEVEL OF COMPLEXITY, 785 00:46:34,076 --> 00:46:37,877 THE TIME AND COST IT TOOK TO FIT THE INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS 786 00:46:37,977 --> 00:46:42,810 AND THEN WIRE THEM TOGETHER BECAME PROHIBITIVELY EXPENSIVE. 787 00:46:42,910 --> 00:46:46,610 IT WAS CALLED THE TYRANNY OF NUMBERS. 788 00:46:46,710 --> 00:46:48,943 KILBY REALIZED THAT TO OVERCOME THIS OBSTACLE, 789 00:46:49,044 --> 00:46:52,543 HE NEEDED TO ELIMINATE THE SEPARATE COMPONENTS ALTOGETHER. 790 00:46:52,643 --> 00:46:55,643 MASON: KILBY IS ALONE IN THE LABORATORY, EVERYONE'S GONE, 791 00:46:55,743 --> 00:46:57,576 AND HE HAS THIS FLASH OF INSPIRATION. 792 00:46:57,676 --> 00:47:00,209 WHAT IF HE MADE THE ENTIRE CIRCUIT 793 00:47:00,309 --> 00:47:03,209 OUT OF THE SAME SEMI-CONDUCTING MATERIAL? 794 00:47:03,309 --> 00:47:04,843 IF HE COULD PULL THIS OFF, 795 00:47:04,943 --> 00:47:08,410 THEN THE ENTIRE CIRCUIT COULD BE MADE SMALLER, 796 00:47:08,510 --> 00:47:11,943 MORE SCALABLE, AND EASIER TO PRODUCE. 797 00:47:14,576 --> 00:47:17,209 HE COULD PULL OFF ONE OF THE GREAT INNOVATIONS IN HISTORY 798 00:47:17,309 --> 00:47:20,543 AND MAKE THESE CIRCUITS SMALLER AND SCALABLE. 799 00:47:20,643 --> 00:47:22,910 STEWART: KILBY PUT TOGETHER A PROTOTYPE, 800 00:47:23,010 --> 00:47:25,543 BUILDING AN ENTIRE ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT 801 00:47:25,643 --> 00:47:27,510 OUT OF ONE PIECE OF GERMANIUM, 802 00:47:27,610 --> 00:47:31,410 AND CALLED IT AN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT. 803 00:47:32,743 --> 00:47:34,410 MASON: THIS IS A REALLY WOW MOMENT. 804 00:47:34,510 --> 00:47:37,977 IT REALLY DID TAKE A BIG JUMP IN THE IMAGINATION 805 00:47:38,076 --> 00:47:43,143 TO THINK OF MAKING EVERYTHING ON ONE MATERIAL AT THE SAME TIME. 806 00:47:43,243 --> 00:47:45,376 STEWART: ON SEPTEMBER 12, 1958, 807 00:47:45,476 --> 00:47:49,276 KILBY REVEALED HIS FIRST WORKING INTEGRATED CIRCUIT, 808 00:47:49,376 --> 00:47:52,843 CHANGING THE WORLD FOREVER. 809 00:47:54,576 --> 00:47:56,543 ONCE WE ADD AN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT, 810 00:47:56,643 --> 00:48:01,176 IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME TO GET FROM THAT TO THIS-- 811 00:48:01,276 --> 00:48:03,109 THE MICROCHIP. 812 00:48:04,810 --> 00:48:08,010 MASON: INTEGRATED CIRCUITS BEGIN TO REVOLUTIONIZE ELECTRONICS, 813 00:48:08,109 --> 00:48:11,010 THINGS LIKE TELEPHONES, RADIOS, AND ESPECIALLY COMPUTERS. 814 00:48:11,109 --> 00:48:15,676 THESE ALL BECOME MORE POWERFUL, SMALLER, AND MORE PORTABLE. 815 00:48:15,777 --> 00:48:18,010 STEWART: ISAAC ASIMOV HAILED IT AS 816 00:48:18,109 --> 00:48:23,443 "THE MOST IMPORTANT MOMENT SINCE MAN EMERGED AS A LIFE FORM." 817 00:48:23,543 --> 00:48:26,343 MASON: KILBY'S INNOVATION REALLY CHANGED THE WORLD. 818 00:48:26,443 --> 00:48:29,309 IT WAS THIS WORK THAT ENABLED THE MINIATURIZATION 819 00:48:29,410 --> 00:48:33,010 OF CIRCUITS AND THAT ENABLED THE CELLPHONE. 820 00:48:36,276 --> 00:48:42,576 STEWART: IN 1973, MOTOROLA INVENTED THE FIRST BULKY CELLPHONE. 821 00:48:42,676 --> 00:48:44,443 OVER THE NEXT TWO DECADES, 822 00:48:44,543 --> 00:48:49,877 CELLPHONES BECAME SMALLER AND MORE AND MORE POWERFUL DEVICES. 823 00:48:51,276 --> 00:48:54,576 BUT AS INCREDIBLE AS THE CELLPHONE WAS, 824 00:48:54,676 --> 00:48:57,676 IT WOULD TAKE A FATHER AND A NEWBORN BABY 825 00:48:57,777 --> 00:49:01,710 TO HELP THE CELLPHONE BECOME TRULY SMART. 826 00:49:05,010 --> 00:49:09,810 IN JUNE OF 1997, SOFTWARE ENGINEER PHILIPPE KAHN 827 00:49:09,910 --> 00:49:14,543 SENT THE FIRST DIGITAL PICTURE THROUGH A CELLPHONE. 828 00:49:14,643 --> 00:49:17,010 KAHN: I'M HOLDING THE BABY IN MY LEFT HAND, 829 00:49:17,109 --> 00:49:20,109 AND I'M HOLDING THE CAMERA IN THE OTHER ONE. 830 00:49:20,209 --> 00:49:23,010 IT WENT OUT TO ABOUT 2,000 PEOPLE-- 831 00:49:23,109 --> 00:49:25,209 FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND BUSINESS CONNECTIONS. 832 00:49:25,309 --> 00:49:29,044 MY DAUGHTER WAS BORN LIKE 15 MINUTES AGO. 833 00:49:29,143 --> 00:49:31,443 POINT, SHOOT, AND SHARE INSTANTLY. 834 00:49:34,043 --> 00:49:36,676 I MEAN, PEOPLE WANT THIS. 835 00:49:36,777 --> 00:49:40,343 STEWART: THE WORLD WAS SOON TALKING ABOUT SOPHIE'S IMAGE. 836 00:49:40,443 --> 00:49:41,977 "TIME" MAGAZINE HAILED IT 837 00:49:42,076 --> 00:49:45,977 AS ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PHOTOS OF ALL TIME. 838 00:49:46,076 --> 00:49:49,710 KAHN: ON THAT DAY, JUNE 11, 1997, THERE WERE TWO BIRTHS, 839 00:49:49,810 --> 00:49:52,209 AND THE MOST IMPORTANT WAS MY DAUGHTER SOPHIE, OBVIOUSLY, 840 00:49:52,309 --> 00:49:55,044 AND THE CAMERA PHONE. 841 00:49:56,710 --> 00:49:59,643 STEWART: BUT SENDING PHOTOS WASN'T THE END OF THE STORY. 842 00:49:59,743 --> 00:50:03,676 AT THE END OF THE DAY, DATA IS DATA. 843 00:50:03,777 --> 00:50:09,044 IF YOU CAN SEND A PHOTO, WHY NOT A SONG OR A VIDEO? 844 00:50:09,143 --> 00:50:10,943 IF YOU CAN SEND A VIDEO, 845 00:50:11,044 --> 00:50:14,943 WHY NOT DO SOMETHING ALEXANDER BELL COULDN'T HAVE EVER DREAMED OF-- 846 00:50:15,044 --> 00:50:19,610 SPEAK FACE-TO-FACE ACROSS ENTIRE CONTINENTS? 847 00:50:19,710 --> 00:50:22,943 AND ULTIMATELY, WHY NOT TIE IT ALL TO THE VERY THING 848 00:50:23,044 --> 00:50:25,943 THAT HAS BECOME ESSENTIAL TO OUR MODERN WORLD-- 849 00:50:26,044 --> 00:50:28,343 THE INTERNET. 850 00:50:32,977 --> 00:50:35,777 LE: THE SMARTPHONE HAS BEEN AN INCREDIBLE FORCE 851 00:50:35,877 --> 00:50:38,943 FOR NOT JUST TRANSFORMING THE WAY THAT WE COMMUNICATE 852 00:50:39,044 --> 00:50:40,610 EFFORTLESSLY WITH EACH OTHER, 853 00:50:40,710 --> 00:50:44,443 BUT IT'S ALSO THE HUB FOR ACCESS TO INFORMATION. 854 00:50:44,543 --> 00:50:49,443 IF YOU LOOK AT EXPLOSION OF THE MYRIAD OF APPLICATIONS 855 00:50:49,543 --> 00:50:52,910 THAT ARE OUT THERE THAT ARE SUPPORTED ON PHONE PLATFORM, 856 00:50:53,010 --> 00:50:56,910 YOU CAN SEE HOW IT HAS FUNDAMENTALLY TRANSFORMED 857 00:50:57,010 --> 00:50:59,910 THE WAY THAT WE LIVE AS WELL. 858 00:51:00,010 --> 00:51:03,476 STEWART: WE CAN NOW USE SMARTPHONES TO CONTROL OUR ENVIRONMENT. 859 00:51:03,576 --> 00:51:06,010 WE HAVE ACCESS TO SO MUCH INFORMATION, 860 00:51:06,109 --> 00:51:08,643 IT'S EVEN CHANGING OUR BRAINS. 861 00:51:08,743 --> 00:51:12,010 TODAY WE REMEMBER LESS BY KNOWING INFORMATION 862 00:51:12,109 --> 00:51:15,643 THAN BY KNOWING WHERE THE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND. 863 00:51:15,743 --> 00:51:19,910 BUT PERHAPS THE BIGGEST BREAKTHROUGH IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER. 864 00:51:20,010 --> 00:51:23,943 LE: TODAY WE ARE USING OUR GESTURES AND OUR FINGERS 865 00:51:24,044 --> 00:51:26,943 TO INDICATE WHAT WE WANT ON A COMPUTER, 866 00:51:27,043 --> 00:51:31,610 BUT THE NEXT STEP OF THE REVOLUTION IS EVEN MORE EXCITING. 867 00:51:31,710 --> 00:51:33,910 STEWART: HERE IN A SAN FRANCISCO LAB, 868 00:51:34,010 --> 00:51:36,943 NEW SMARTPHONE TECHNOLOGY IS BEING DEVELOPED 869 00:51:37,044 --> 00:51:41,044 USING BIOLOGICAL SENSORS TO TAKE INSTRUCTIONS 870 00:51:41,143 --> 00:51:43,910 DIRECTLY FROM OUR BRAINS. 871 00:51:46,010 --> 00:51:49,510 ERICA IS WEARING A HEADSET THAT READS HER BRAINWAVES. 872 00:51:49,610 --> 00:51:51,910 THOSE BRAINWAVES ARE TRANSMITTED TO THE SMARTPHONE, 873 00:51:52,010 --> 00:51:55,910 WHICH TRANSLATES THOSE ELECTRICAL IMPULSES INTO COMMANDS 874 00:51:56,010 --> 00:51:59,610 THAT CAN THEN BE USED TO DRIVE THE ROBOTIC BALL. 875 00:52:03,309 --> 00:52:05,643 IMAGINE THE EFFICIENCIES THAT YOU WILL GET 876 00:52:05,743 --> 00:52:09,476 ONCE WE CAN TAP DIRECTLY INTO THE BRAIN 877 00:52:09,576 --> 00:52:11,843 SO THAT THE COMPUTING PLATFORMS OF THE FUTURE 878 00:52:11,943 --> 00:52:14,309 CAN ANTICIPATE WHAT YOU WANT SEAMLESSLY 879 00:52:14,410 --> 00:52:17,076 AND YOU CAN SEND INFORMATION AT THE SPEED OF THOUGHT. 880 00:52:18,710 --> 00:52:22,943 WE CAN BRING THE HUMAN ELEMENT INTO THIS ENTIRE ECOSYSTEM. 881 00:52:23,043 --> 00:52:26,710 WE WILL BE THIS FULLY CONNECTED ORGANISM. 882 00:52:26,810 --> 00:52:29,676 THE HUMAN BECOMES A PART OF THE ENVIRONMENT, 883 00:52:29,777 --> 00:52:33,376 AND THE ENVIRONMENT BECOMES AN EXTENSION OF OUR BRAIN. 884 00:52:34,910 --> 00:52:37,810 STEWART: USING OUR MINDS TO CONTROL OUR SMARTPHONES, 885 00:52:37,910 --> 00:52:41,910 THEY WILL BECOME OUR WIRELESS INTERFACE WITH THE WORLD. 886 00:52:48,076 --> 00:52:51,943 THE SMARTPHONE FULFILLS A DREAM THAT IS SURPRISINGLY ANCIENT, 887 00:52:52,044 --> 00:52:55,910 THE CULMINATION OF REMARKABLE STORIES AND PIONEERS 888 00:52:56,010 --> 00:52:58,843 STRETCHING BACK 2,000 YEARS, 889 00:52:58,943 --> 00:53:01,176 FROM FRANK KILBY'S MISSED VACATION 890 00:53:01,276 --> 00:53:03,977 THAT GAVE THE WORLD THE INTEGRATED CIRCUIT 891 00:53:04,076 --> 00:53:07,109 AND POWERFUL MINIATURIZED COMPUTERS 892 00:53:07,209 --> 00:53:10,343 TO HEDY LAMARR'S DETERMINATION TO DEFEAT THE NAZIS 893 00:53:10,443 --> 00:53:12,610 THAT GAVE US THE CELLULAR NETWORK 894 00:53:12,710 --> 00:53:15,743 TO HOMER DUDLEY'S OBSESSION WITH HUMAN SPEECH 895 00:53:15,843 --> 00:53:19,410 THAT LED TO COVERT COMMUNICATION DURING WORLD WAR II 896 00:53:19,510 --> 00:53:21,676 AND THE DIGITAL AGE, 897 00:53:21,777 --> 00:53:24,309 RIGHT BACK THROUGH MARCONI'S FASCINATION 898 00:53:24,410 --> 00:53:27,343 WITH SHIP-TO-SHORE COMMUNICATIONS, 899 00:53:27,443 --> 00:53:30,943 BELL'S INFATUATION WITH AN ELECTRONIC EAR, 900 00:53:31,044 --> 00:53:33,943 AND THE TRAGIC, DEATH OF MORSE'S WIFE, 901 00:53:34,044 --> 00:53:36,643 ALL THE WAY BACK TO POLYBIUS, 902 00:53:36,743 --> 00:53:40,943 THE MAN THAT USED COMMUNICATION TO WIN A WAR. 903 00:53:41,044 --> 00:53:44,710 WITHOUT THEM AND THEIR INCREDIBLE STORIES, 904 00:53:44,810 --> 00:53:48,044 WE WOULD NEVER HAVE THE SMARTPHONE. 905 00:53:52,410 --> 00:53:53,910 STEWART: NEXT TIME ON "BREAKTHROUGH," 906 00:53:54,010 --> 00:53:56,843 THE MACHINE THAT DISCOVERED THE UNIVERSE. 907 00:53:58,443 --> 00:54:03,643 IT WOULD TAKE CRYSTALS FORGED INSIDE THE EARTH, 908 00:54:03,743 --> 00:54:06,810 JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF SALT, 909 00:54:06,910 --> 00:54:11,877 A CHANCE ALIGNMENT OF TWO SMALL PIECES OF GLASS 910 00:54:11,977 --> 00:54:13,843 TO CREATE THE DEVICE 911 00:54:13,943 --> 00:54:17,743 THAT WOULD OPEN OUR EYES TO THE UNIVERSE ITSELF-- 912 00:54:17,843 --> 00:54:19,476 THE TELESCOPE.