Breakthrough: The Ideas That Changed the World

PATRICK STEWART: FOR MOST OF HISTORY, WE WERE ISOLATED FROM THE REST OF HUMANKIND, BUT THE URGE TO COMMUNICATE WITH ONE ANOTHER WAS SO POWERFUL THAT IT CHANGED HOW WE INTERACT AND GAVE US A NEW INTERFACE WITH THE WORLD.

THE STORY OF HOW WE GOT HERE IS FULL OF THE MOST ASTONISHING TWISTS AND UNLIKELY TURNS.

IT WOULD TAKE A ROMAN SIEGE, AN UNTIMELY DEATH, A TEENAGE GENIUS, A HOLLYWOOD STAR WITH A BRILLIANT MIND, THE CLOAK AND DAGGER COMMUNICATIONS OF WORLD WAR II, AND A MISSED VACATION TO CREATE A DEVICE THAT PUT THE WHOLE WORLD IN OUR HANDS, THE SMARTPHONE.

THESE ARE THE INVENTIONS THAT DEFINE OUR AGE AND CHANGED THE WORLD FOREVER, THAT ALLOWED US TO MOVE BOTH ON THE GROUND AND IN THE AIR, TO CONNECT AND TO EXPLORE THE FURTHEST REGIONS OF THE UNIVERSE, EACH A MOMENT OF INGENUITY, OF WONDER... OF BREAKTHROUGH.

[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS] STEWART: TODAY, NEARLY TWO THIRDS OF HUMANITY USE A SMARTPHONE.

IT CONNECTS BILLIONS OF PEOPLE IN A WAY THAT HAS NOT BEEN POSSIBLE BEFORE.

IN JUST ONE GENERATION, IT HAS REVOLUTIONIZED THE TELEPHONE FROM SOMETHING WE USE TO TALK TO EACH OTHER INTO SOMETHING THAT HAS COME TO DOMINATE OUR LIVES.

MAN: IT'S HARD TO THINK OF ANYTHING THAT HAS CHANGED SO MUCH OF THE WORLD FOR SO MANY PEOPLE SO QUICKLY AS THE SMARTPHONE.

STEWART: WE TRUST OUR MOST IMPORTANT AND PRIVATE MATTERS TO OUR SMARTPHONES-- OUR PASSWORDS, OUR PHOTOGRAPHS AND VIDEOS, OUR TASTE IN MUSIC, EVEN THE INTIMATE DETAILS OF OUR LOVED ONES AND FRIENDS.

WE USE THEM TO NAVIGATE OUR ENVIRONMENT AND HELP US TO LIVE OUR LIVES.

EVEN NOW, ENGINEERS ARE WORKING ON THE NEXT STAGE OF THE SMARTPHONE'S EVOLUTION, A MACHINE WE CAN CONTROL WITH OUR MIND.

WOMAN: WE'LL BE ABLE TO USE TECHNOLOGY THAT INTERFACES DIRECTLY WITH OUR BRAIN AND INFLUENCE ANYTHING IN OUR PHYSICAL WORLD WITHOUT EVEN HAVING TO LIFT A FINGER.

STEWART: THE SMARTPHONE FULFILLS A DREAM THAT IS SURPRISINGLY ANCIENT.

IT BEGINS NOT HUNDREDS BUT THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO WITH A GREEK HISTORIAN AND A ROMAN SIEGE.

[MEN GRUNTING, SWORDS CLANGING] POLYBIUS WAS A GREEK HISTORIAN BEST KNOWN FOR HIS 40-VOLUME OPUS, "HISTORIES."

IT WAS REALLY THE STORY OF THE RISE OF ROME IN THE THIRD AND SECOND CENTURIES B.C., AND AT THE SAME TIME, THE FALL OF CARTHAGE, THE SO-CALLED PUNIC WARS.

WHAT'S PARTICULARLY STRIKING IS THAT IT CHANGED THE WAY WE WRITE HISTORY.

HE INSISTED FOR THE FIRST TIME ON THE USE OF DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE AND ALSO THE USE OF FIRST-HAND EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS.

BUT THERE WAS SOMETHING ELSE HE NOTICED DURING THE COURSE OF HIS OBSERVATIONS, AND THAT WAS THAT THE ROMANS HAD A VERY INEFFICIENT WAY OF SIGNALING LONG DISTANCE ON THE BATTLEFIELD.

BOTH PARTIES, THE SENDER AND THE RECEIVER, HAD A CLAY POT WITH A STOPPER IN IT FILLED WITH WATER.

AND INTO THE TOP OF THE CLAY POT IS PLACED THIS WOODEN ROD WITH NUMBERS ON IT.

NOW, EACH OF THOSE NUMBERS REFERS TO A PREDETERMINED MESSAGE WHICH IS ON THIS BOARD, AND THE MESSAGE I'M GOING TO WANT TO SEND IS NUMBER 7-- "CAVALRY RETREAT."

THE SYSTEM WORKS LIKE THIS.

WHEN THE ROMAN SIGNALER WAS READY TO SEND HIS MESSAGE, HE LIFTS HIS LIGHTED TORCH UP INTO THE AIR.

THE PERSON WHO IS GOING TO RECEIVE THE MESSAGE SEES THE LIGHTED TORCH AND LIFTS ANOTHER ONE IN RESPONSE.

WHEN THE SIGNALER SEES THIS, HE DROPS HIS TORCH, AND THIS IS A SIGN THAT BOTH OF THEM AT THE SAME TIME REMOVE THE STOPPERS FROM THE BOTTOM OF THEIR POTS.

NOW THAT OF COURSE IS GOING TO LOWER THE WATER IN THE POT, AND EVENTUALLY, AS THE STICK DROPS, WE'LL GET TO THE RIGHT MESSAGE.

AND WHEN WE GET TO THAT MESSAGE, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE LET THEM KNOW AT THE SAME TIME SO THAT WE CAN STOP THE WHOLE PROCESS.

OK, WE'RE THERE NOW.

AND IT'S AT THAT POINT THAT WE SHOULD BOTH BE LOOKING AT THE SAME NUMBER ON THE ROD, WHICH EQUATES TO THE MESSAGE "CAVALRY RETREAT."

THE DRAWBACK OF THE SYSTEM, OF COURSE, IS THAT YOU CAN ONLY SEND THESE FIXED MESSAGES.

CONVINCED THERE MUST BE A BETTER WAY TO COMMUNICATE OVER THE BATTLEFIELD, POLYBIUS COMES UP WITH THE INGENIOUS WAY OF USING A CODE TO INDICATE INDIVIDUAL LETTERS.

HE COMES UP WITH A NUMERICAL GRID THAT ENABLES EVERY INDIVIDUAL LETTER IN THE ALPHABET TO BE IDENTIFIED BY JUST TWO NUMBERS.

IT WAS A SYSTEM KNOWN AS THE POLYBIUS SQUARE.

THE ROMAN SIGNALER WOULD BEGIN BY RAISING HIS TORCH AND WAITING FOR THE PERSON WHO WOULD RECEIVE THE MESSAGE TO ACKNOWLEDGE HIM.

ONCE HE KNEW HE WAS READY, HE WOULD BEGIN TO SPELL OUT HIS MESSAGE BIT BY BIT USING POLYBIUS' SQUARE.

SO THE FIRST LETTER IS "P." IT'S 5 TORCHES ON THE LEFT AND 3 TORCHES ON THE RIGHT.

LETTER BY LETTER, THE SIGNALER COULD SPELL OUT HIS MESSAGE.

NEXT LETTER WE'VE GOT IS "R." TWO ON THE LEFT AND 4 ON THE RIGHT.

DAVID: POLYBIUS' SIGNALING SYSTEM WAS A REVOLUTION IN MILITARY COMMUNICATION AND SENDING MESSAGES OVER LONG DISTANCES.

[MEN GRUNTING] STEWART: POLYBIUS HAD INVENTED THE FIRST TWO-WAY ENCRYPTED MESSAGING SYSTEM.

BUT SIGNALING THIS WAY WAS ONLY POSSIBLE BY LINE OF SIGHT.

FOR THE NEXT 2,000 YEARS, COMMUNICATING FURTHER AFIELD MEANT SENDING A LETTER.

AND IT WAS THE TRAGIC CONTENTS OF A LETTER THAT TRIGGERED THE NEXT STEP IN THE STORY OF THE SMARTPHONE.

IN THE 1820s, THE OPEN BOULEVARDS OF AMERICA'S NEW CAPITAL ARE BARELY 30 YEARS OLD.

AND IT'S HERE THAT THE EMERGING ARTIST SAMUEL MORSE IS WORKING ON HIS MOST IMPORTANT COMMISSION, ONE THAT HE THINKS IS GOING TO BRING HIM GREAT FAME AND FORTUNE.

IT'S A PORTRAIT OF THE MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE, A MAN WHO HAD FOUGHT IN BOTH THE AMERICAN AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTIONARY WARS AND WHO IS ALSO A CLOSE FRIEND OF GEORGE WASHINGTON.

6 YEARS EARLIER ON SEPTEMBER 29, 1818, MORSE HAD MARRIED LUCRETIA PICKERING WALKER, AND THE TWO HAD BEEN HAPPY.

THEY HAD TWO BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN, AND LUCRETIA WAS NOW HEAVILY PREGNANT WITH THEIR THIRD CHILD.

EVEN WITH AN EXPECTANT WIFE, MORSE COULDN'T TURN DOWN AN IMPORTANT COMMISSION, SO HE TRAVELED THE 300 MILES FROM HIS HOME IN NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT TO WASHINGTON D.C. TO TAKE THE JOB.

LUCRETIA WRITES REGULAR LETTERS, AND ONE READS, "I THINK NOW WE CAN INDULGE A RATIONAL HOPE "THAT THE TIME IS NOT FAR DISTANT WHEN YOU CAN BE IN THE BOSOM OF YOUR MUCH-LOVED FAMILY."

MORSE LOOKS FORWARD TO BEING HOME AND ENDS HIS REPLY, "I LONG TO HEAR FROM YOU."

STEWART: LUCRETIA GAVE BIRTH TWO DAYS LATER, BUT THERE WERE COMPLICATIONS, AND SAMUEL MORSE, HUNDREDS OF MILES AWAY, HAD NO WAY OF KNOWING.

3 DAYS PASSED BEFORE MORSE RECEIVED AN URGENT AND DEVASTATING MESSAGE FROM HIS FATHER.

MASON: "MY HEART IS IN PAIN AND DEEPLY SORROWFUL "WHILE I ANNOUNCE TO YOU THE SUDDEN AND UNEXPECTED DEATH OF YOUR DEAR AND DESERVEDLY LOVED WIFE."

STEWART: IT TOOK HIM ANOTHER 3 DAYS TO RIDE THE 300 MILES HOME.

IN ALL, A WEEK HAD PASSED SINCE LUCRETIA PASSED AWAY.

MASON: BY THE TIME MORSE ARRIVES HOME, LUCRETIA IS ALREADY BURIED.

SO HERE IT IS, THE GRAVE OF LUCRETIA MORSE.

MORSE IS DISTRAUGHT, BUT IN THE DEPTH OF HIS GRIEF, HE BECOMES DETERMINED TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF HOW TO SEND MESSAGES QUICKLY OVER LONG DISTANCES.

STEWART: THE TRAGEDY SET IN MOTION AN OBSESSION, AN OBSESSION THAT DURING A CHANCE ENCOUNTER AT SEA 8 YEARS LATER WOULD LEAD MORSE TO A BREAKTHROUGH THAT WOULD CHANGE THE WORLD.

MASON: IN 1832, MORSE IS RETURNING BY SHIP FROM A TRIP TO EUROPE WHEN HE HAPPENS TO MEET THE AMERICAN SCIENTIST CHARLES THOMAS JACKSON.

JACKSON HAS EXPERIENCE WITH THE LATEST STUDIES OF ELECTRICITY.

IN THE EARLY 19th CENTURY, SCIENTISTS STUDYING THE NEW PHENOMENA OF ELECTRICITY AND MATERIALS MADE AN AMAZING DISCOVERY, THAT AN ELECTRICAL CURRENT COULD CREATE A MAGNETIC FORCE.

SO HERE'S AN EXAMPLE OF HOW IT WORKS.

I HAVE A PIECE OF METAL AROUND WHICH I'VE WRAPPED A WIRE, AND THEN CONNECT IT TO ELECTRICITY.

WHEN IT'S OFF, I DON'T GET ANY MAGNETIC FORCE.

IT'S NOT MAGNETIC, NOT PICKING UP PAPER CLIPS.

BUT WHEN I TURN IT ON, IT BECOMES MAGNETIC.

AND NOW I CAN TAKE THE CURRENT OFF AND IT'S NOT MAGNETIC ANYMORE.

JACKSON SHOWS MORSE A RUDIMENTARY ELECTROMAGNET.

IT'S THIS MOMENT THAT'S AT THE HEART OF THE STORY.

MORSE BEGINS TO WONDER, CAN YOU USE THIS PROPERTY OF ON/OFF MAGNETIC FORCE AS A TYPE OF SWITCH?

WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO SEND A MESSAGE ALONG A WIRE BY OPENING AND CLOSING AN ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT?

STEWART: MORSE ATTACHED A SWITCH TO HIS CIRCUIT AND ON THE OTHER END, HE BUILT AN ELECTROMAGNET IN A RECEIVER.

THIS IS HIS ORIGINAL DESIGN.

CLOSING THE SWITCH SENT AN ELECTRIC PULSE TO THE RECEIVER.

THIS COMPELLED A PEN TO MARK A PIECE OF PAPER THAT SLOWLY UNROLLED.

THE LENGTH OF THE PEN STROKE CORRESPONDED TO THE LENGTH OF TIME THE SWITCH WAS CLOSED.

THE PEN RESET WHEN THE SWITCH WAS OPEN.

MORSE'S MACHINE SEEMS STRIKINGLY SIMPLE NOW, BUT ELECTRICITY HAD NEVER BEEN USED IN THIS WAY BEFORE.

MASON: MORSE HAS BUILT A MACHINE THAT CAN SEND AN ELECTRICAL SIGNAL ALMOST INSTANTANEOUSLY DOWN A WIRE.

BUT HE'S STILL GOT A PROBLEM.

HE NEEDS TO DEVELOP A CODE THAT CAN TRANSFORM A SIMPLE START, STOP OPERATION INTO LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET.

EVENTUALLY, AFTER A LOT OF THOUGHT, HE DEVELOPS THE SYSTEM OF DOTS AND DASHES THAT CARRIES HIS NAME.

STEWART: THE MAN WHO HAD TO WAIT 3 DAYS TO HEAR TRAGIC NEWS FROM HOME HAD GIVEN HIGH-SPEED COMMUNICATION TO THE WORLD.

MASON: MORSE HIMSELF BECOMES RICH AND FAMOUS, BUT HE NEVER FORGOT HIS INSPIRATION, WRITING TO HIS DAUGHTER THAT, "SHE COULD NEVER KNOW THE DEPTH OF THE WOUND THAT WAS INFLICTED WHEN HE LOST LUCRETIA."

STEWART: MORSE'S TELEGRAPH SOON CONNECTED AMERICANS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

WITHIN JUST DECADES, A VAST NETWORK OF ELECTRICAL CABLES ENCIRCLED THE WORLD.

HIGH-SPEED ELECTRICAL COMMUNICATION BECAME THE GLOBAL NERVOUS SYSTEM OF COMMERCE, JOURNALISM, AND DIPLOMACY, DISRUPTING HOW INFORMATION WAS SHARED, JUST AS THE SMARTPHONE WILL DO OVER 150 YEARS LATER.

BUT FAST AS IT WAS, COMMUNICATING IN DOTS AND DASHES WASN'T INSTANT.

MESSAGES HAD TO BE CODED, DELIVERED, AND DECODED VIA SPECIALLY-EQUIPPED TELEGRAPH OFFICES.

[TELEGRAPH BEEPING] NEITHER WAS IT PRIVATE.

AT LEAST TWO OPERATORS HAD ALREADY READ THE MESSAGE BEFORE ITS INTENDED RECIPIENT.

FIGURING OUT HOW TO CONNECT TWO PEOPLE DIRECTLY, AND ACTUALLY HEAR ONE ANOTHER OVER LONG DISTANCE, WOULD REQUIRE A MAN WHO TAUGHT PEOPLE WHO COULDN'T HEAR AT ALL.

ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL, A SCOTSMAN, WAS BORN INTO A FAMILY OF ELOCUTIONISTS, AND HE SHOWED AN INTEREST IN THE FAMILY BUSINESS FROM AN EARLY AGE.

HE WAS PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN THE MECHANICS OF SPEECH AND EVEN LEARNED HOW TO MAKE HIS PET TERRIER APPEAR TO TALK BY MANIPULATING ITS JAW WHILE IT GROWLED.

AS AN ADULT, HE USED THIS KNOWLEDGE TO TEACH THE DEAF HOW TO SPEAK.

BUT IN 1872, HE BECAME FASCINATED WITH A NEW INTEREST-- ELECTRICITY.

COULD HE USE THIS TO GENERATE SPEECH?

MAN: THE KEY CHALLENGE IS, HOW DO YOU TURN THE SOUND WAVES OF THE HUMAN VOICE INTO AN ELECTRICAL SIGNAL THAT CAN TRAVEL DOWN A WIRE AND THEN AT THE OTHER END TURN IT BACK INTO A SOUND WAVE?

STEWART: BELL EXPERIMENTED ON THE EARS OF CADAVERS.

HE OBSERVED THE WAY DIFFERENT SOUNDS PRODUCED DISTINCT VIBRATIONS IN THE EARDRUM AND WAS STRUCK BY AN EXTRAORDINARY IDEA.

IF HE COULD INVENT A MACHINE THAT ACTED LIKE AN ELECTRICAL EARDRUM, MAYBE HE COULD TELEGRAPH SPEECH.

BELL CALLED HIS INVENTION AN ELECTRICAL SPEECH MACHINE, AND BEFORE BUILDING A WORKING PROTOTYPE, HE SUBMITTED AN APPLICATION TO THE U.S. PATENT OFFICE IN WASHINGTON D.C. ON FEBRUARY 14, 1876.

ONLY HE WAS NOT ALONE.

ANOTHER INVENTOR, ELISHA GRAY OF THE POWERFUL WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY, SUBMITTED A SIMILAR PATENT THAT VERY SAME DAY.

BELL STILL HAD TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO BUILD HIS WORKING MACHINE.

HIS PRIVATE NOTEBOOKS SHINE A LIGHT ON HIS FIRST PROTOTYPE.

A MOUTHPIECE DIRECTED SOUND WAVES TO A DIAPHRAGM THAT WAS ATTACHED TO A NEEDLE.

THE DIAPHRAGM FLEXED, IMMERSING THE NEEDLE INTO A VESSEL OF DILUTE ACID.

THIS COMPLETED AN ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT.

AS THE NEEDLE DIPPED IN THE ACID, IT GENERATED SURGES IN THE CURRENT THAT TRAVEL DOWN THE WIRE.

AT THE RECEIVING END, THE DEVICE CONVERTED THOSE ELECTRICAL WAVES BACK INTO SOUND.

BELL COMPLETED HIS PROTOTYPE ON MARCH 10, 1876.

IT WAS A GROUNDBREAKING MOMENT THAT IRONICALLY WAS CELEBRATED IN SILENT FILM SOME 50 YEARS LATER.

MAN: MR. WATSON, COME HERE.

I WANT TO SEE YOU.

WOMAN: TO MY DELIGHT, HE CAME AND DECLARED THAT HE HAD HEARD AND UNDERSTOOD WHAT I SAID.

SO THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IT REALLY WORKED.

ONE OF THE GREAT A-HA MOMENTS.

THE GREAT A-HA MOMENTS.

EXACTLY.

IN THE HISTORY OF INVENTION.

STEWART: BELL AND WATSON READ BOOKS TO EACH OTHER DURING THAT FIRST TELEPHONE CALL.

THEY EVEN SANG SONGS.

BELL WAS AWARDED HIS PATENT AND ESTABLISHED THE BELL TELEPHONE COMPANY.

BUT THERE'S MORE TO THIS STORY THAN 1920s FILMMAKERS WOULD HAVE YOU BELIEVE.

BELL'S PROTOTYPE NO LONGER RESEMBLED HIS ORIGINAL PATENT APPLICATION.

HIS SKETCHES SHOW THAT WITHIN THE SPACE OF A MONTH IT LOOKED A LOT LIKE ELISHA GRAY'S DESIGN.

MAN: IF YOU LOOK AT THE DIAGRAMS IN THE TWO DOCUMENTS, THEY ARE VERY SIMILAR.

AND THEY BOTH SHOW THE LIQUID TRANSMITTER, WHERE A NEEDLE WOULD VIBRATE IN A BATH OF BATTERY ACID TO HELP MODULATE THE CURRENT THAT WAS PASSING THROUGH IT.

SO, YEAH, IT'S A LEGITIMATE QUESTION WHETHER THEY REALLY BOTH CAME UP WITH THIS IDEA AT THE SAME TIME OR MAYBE THERE WAS SOMETHING A LITTLE MORE UNDERHANDED INVOLVED.

STEWART: THE WESTERN UNION CLAIMED BELL SOMEHOW STOLE THE LIQUID TRANSMITTER IDEA FROM ELISHA GRAY AND SUED HIM.

OTHER COMPANIES ALSO FILED COUNTLESS LAWSUITS TO INVALIDATE BELL'S PATENT.

MEIGS: THE TELEPHONE WAS ONE OF THE BIGGEST INVENTIONS IN HISTORY, AND EVERYONE KNEW IT WOULD BE ONE OF THE MOST PROFITABLE INVENTIONS IN HISTORY.

SO OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS, BELL HAD TO FIGHT OFF A HUGE NUMBER OF LAWSUITS.

THE CONTROVERSY RAGED ON FOR A DECADE UNTIL SEPTEMBER 1886 WHEN FISK WILBER, THE PATENT INSPECTOR, MADE A SHOCKING ADMISSION UNDER OATH.

HE TESTIFIED THAT HE HAD ACTUALLY SHOWED BELL DRAWINGS FROM THE GRAY PATENT.

HE HAD SHOWED HIM THAT LIQUID TRANSMITTER AND EXPLAINED IT TO HIM, AND THAT'S WHAT ENABLED BELL TO GO BACK AND ADD THAT TO HIS APPLICATION.

NOT ONLY THAT, HE SAID THAT BELL CAME BACK AND SLIPPED HIM A CRISP $100 BILL.

AND THEN WILBER WENT AND TOLD HIS SUPERIORS THAT IN FACT BELL HAD FILED HIS PATENT FIRST.

THINGS WERE LOOKING PRETTY BAD FOR ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL.

BELL'S LAWYERS INVESTIGATED FISK WILBER.

HE WAS A TERRIBLE ALCOHOLIC, DEEPLY IN DEBT, AND IT APPEARED THAT HE WAS ACTUALLY BEING PAID OFF BY A RIVAL PHONE COMPANY THAT WAS INFRINGING ON THE BELL PATENTS AND WAS TRYING TO GET A FOOTHOLD IN THIS BURGEONING INDUSTRY.

STEWART: IN 1888, THE SUPREME COURT HAD THE FINAL SAY ON THE MATTER.

THE 7 JUDGES VOTED 4 TO 3 IN BELL'S FAVOR.

BELL WAS NOW OFFICIALLY THE TELEPHONE'S INVENTOR.

MEIGS: THE EVENTS THAT DAY AT THE U.S. PATENT OFFICE HAVE KICKED OFF MORE THAN A CENTURY OF SPECULATION, AND THAT HAS LED TO ALL KINDS OF CONSPIRACY THEORIES, CLAIMS, AND COUNTER CLAIMS THAT ARE STILL BEING ARGUED ABOUT TODAY.

STEWART: THE TELEPHONE'S INVENTION WAS ONE OF THE GREAT MILESTONES IN THE HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY.

NOW NO MATTER HOW FAR APART WE WERE, WE COULD STILL TALK TO ONE ANOTHER, MAKING LONG-DISTANCE COMMUNICATION DIRECT, CLEAR, AND INSTANTANEOUS FOR THE FIRST TIME.

AND THE CONTROVERSY THAT SURROUNDED THE INVENTION HAD SHOWN THAT ONCE IDEAS REACH A CRITICAL MASS, BREAKTHROUGHS BECOME INEVITABLE.

BUT SOMETIMES REVOLUTIONS COME FROM SOMEONE REALIZING ANOTHER PERSON'S BREAKTHROUGH HAS AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT APPLICATION.

AND SOMETIMES IT'S SOMETHING ONLY A TEENAGER CAN SEE.

GUGLIELMO MARCONI WAS BORN INTO ITALIAN NOBILITY.

WHILE HE DIDN'T DISPLAY ANY SPECIAL ACADEMIC ABILITY, HE WAS AN OBSESSIVE INVENTOR.

EVER SINCE HE WAS A SMALL BOY, HE WAS CONVINCED THAT HE WAS DESTINED FOR GREATNESS.

HE SPENT HIS SUMMER VACATIONS IN LABONO, A SEASIDE TOWN IN NORTHERN ITALY, AND BECAME A KEEN SAILOR.

THE STORY GOES THAT DURING ONE SUCH TRIP MARCONI, NOW 18, READ OF A NEW DISCOVERY IN A POPULAR SCIENCE JOURNAL.

GERMAN PHYSICIST HEINRICH HERTZ, USING A HIGH-VOLTAGE INDUCTION COIL, HAD SHOWN THAT IF YOU CREATE AN ARC, A SPARK BETWEEN TWO ELECTRODES, YOU WOULD ALSO DETECT A STRONG SURGE IN ELECTRIC CURRENTS IN A NEARBY RECEIVING CIRCUIT, PROVING THAT THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES COULD TRAVEL THROUGH THIN AIR.

HERTZ WROTE, "I DO NOT THINK THAT THE WIRELESS WAVES I HAVE DISCOVERED WILL HAVE ANY PRACTICAL APPLICATION."

BUT MARCONI HAD DIFFERENT IDEAS.

HE BEGINS TO WONDER MIGHT THERE BE A WAY TO SEND TELEGRAPH MESSAGES WITHOUT THE NEED FOR WIRES, TO BECOME WIRELESS.

THIS IS A HUGE REVOLUTIONARY THOUGHT, SOMETHING THAT NOBODY ELSE HAS DONE.

THAT'S GENIUS.

STEWART: MARCONI'S YOUNG, FERTILE MIND SAW SOMETHING IN HERTZ'S BREAKTHROUGH OTHERS HADN'T.

HE BEGAN TO EXPERIMENT IN THE ATTIC OF HIS FAMILY'S GRAND MANSION HERE ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF BOLOGNA.

A REPLICA OF HIS ORIGINAL SETUP REMAINS TO THIS DAY.

GEORGE: HE'S JUST USING EVERYDAY COMPONENTS THAT YOU WOULD FIND IN MANY PEOPLE'S LABORATORIES AT THE TIME--BATTERIES, GLASS TUBES, METAL FILINGS.

STEWART: MARCONI SET UP TWO CIRCUITS.

HE ADDED A SWITCH TO ONE AND A BELL TO THE OTHER AND PLACED THEM ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE ROOM.

HE FLIPPED THE SWITCHED, AND THE UNCONNECTED BELL RANG.

[BELL RINGS] BUT THIS YOUNG MAN HAD MUCH BIGGER IDEAS.

GEORGE: NOW, MARCONI WANTED TO SHOW THAT THIS WASN'T JUST SOME PARLOR TRICK OVER SHORT DISTANCES INSIDE.

MARCONI KNEW THAT THIS COULD HAVE VALUE IF YOU COULD COMMUNICATE MUCH LONGER DISTANCES.

SO HE TOOK HIS EQUIPMENT OUTSIDE.

WHAT MARCONI WANTED TO DO IS SEE IF YOU COULD ACTUALLY PRODUCE RADIO WAVES AND RECEIVE THEM IN THE REAL WORLD THROUGH THE TREES, SOMEWHERE WHERE YOU CAN'T ACTUALLY SEE.

SO WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS MARCONI'S ORIGINAL SETUP FROM HIS ATTIC.

SO WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO IS CONNECT OUR BIG ANTENNA HERE, 5 MEGAHERTZ ANTENNA, AND WE'RE GOING TO SEND THE LETTER "S" IN MORSE CODE, AND WE'RE GOING TO TRY AND RECEIVE OUR SIGNAL A KILOMETER AWAY.

SO RENZO HAS GONE BACK DOWN TO THE TRANSMITTER.

WHAT WE'VE AGREED IS THAT RENZO IS GOING TO TRANSMIT AT 11:45.

SO WE'VE SYNCHRONIZED OUR WATCHES.

[ELECTRICITY ZAPPING] [BELL RINGS] YES, IT WORKED.

AND THIS IS A MASSIVE TURNING POINT IN THE HISTORY OF COMMUNICATION.

MARCONI HAS SHOWN THIS ISN'T A PARLOR TRICK ANYMORE.

HE IS OUTSIDE COMMUNICATING.

STEWART: IN SEPTEMBER 1899, MARCONI EQUIPPED TWO AMERICAN SHIPS WITH WIRELESS TELEGRAPHS SO NEW YORK NEWSPAPERS COULD REPORT ON THE PROGRESS OF THE AMERICA'S CUP.

THE FOLLOWING YEAR, HE BEGAN INSTALLING AND OPERATING WIRELESS TELEGRAPHS ON THOUSANDS OF SHIPS.

HE WAS JUST 26.

BUT THE TRUE TRIUMPH OF MARCONI'S MACHINE WAS UNDERSCORED IN THE EARLY HOURS OF APRIL 15, 1912.

WHEN THE "TITANIC" HIT AN ICEBERG, TWO OF MARCONI'S TELEGRAPH OPERATORS BROADCAST A DISTRESS SIGNAL UNTIL THE SHIP WENT DOWN.

MARCONI'S TELEGRAPH WAS CREDITED WITH SAVING THE LIVES OF "TITANIC'S" 700 SURVIVORS.

[ELECTRICITY BUZZING] FROM A SPARK OF INSPIRATION WHILE SAILING WHEN HE WAS 18, MARCONI HAD GIVEN RADIO COMMUNICATION TO THE WORLD.

RADIO ADVANCED HUGELY OVER THE NEXT TWO DECADES.

SOON PEOPLE WERE TALKING OVER THE AIRWAVES.

[INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER] BUT ONE MAN WAS ABOUT TO TAKE THE HUMAN VOICE IN AN ENTIRELY NEW DIRECTION.

IN THE EARLY 1930s, HOMER DUDLEY, AN ELECTRONIC ENGINEER AT BELL LABS, WAS TRYING TO WORK OUT HOW TO TRANSMIT SPEECH DOWN A TRANSATLANTIC CABLE.

THE CABLES LACKED THE BANDWIDTH TO RELAY THE HUMAN VOICE.

MAN: HERE'S A NOTEBOOK WHERE YOU CAN SEE NOTES FROM HOMER WHERE HE'S DIAGRAMMING THE HUMAN VOCAL TRACT.

RIGHT.

HE'S IDENTIFYING ALL THE DIFFERENT PLACES THAT DIFFERENT SOUNDS ARE CREATED.

EXACTLY.

MAN: THIS WAS ALL NECESSARY SO THAT HE COULD START TO UNDERSTAND THE FREQUENCIES AND WHAT THE HUMAN VOICE WAS ACTUALLY PRODUCING.

MEIGS: WHAT'S SO FASCINATING LOOKING THROUGH DUDLEY'S NOTEBOOKS IS HE DIDN'T SEE THE PROBLEM OF CONDENSING SPEECH FOR A TELEPHONE AS AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM.

HE SPENT YEARS ANALYZING THE HUMAN VOICE ITSELF.

MAN: BY STUDYING VOCAL CHORDS IN THAT MUCH DETAIL, HE STARTED TO REALIZE HOW YOU COULD BREAK UP THE HUMAN VOICE INTO THE PARTS THAT YOU JUST NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND IT AT THE OTHER END.

[OVERLAPPING VOICES] STEWART: DUDLEY REALIZED HE COULD SLICE UP SPEECH ELECTRONICALLY INTO THE DISTINCT SOUNDS THAT CONVEY A WORD'S MEANING.

THIS WOULD TAKE UP MUCH LESS SPACE WHEN A WORD WAS TRANSMITTED DOWN A WIRE.

HE CALLED HIS INVENTION A VOCODER, SHORT FOR VOICE CODER.

MEIGS: YOU DON'T NEED ALL THE SOUND ASSOCIATED WITH THE SPEECH.

YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE COMPONENTS OF SPEECH THAT REALLY CARRY THE MEANING.

IF YOU CAN JUST SEND THOSE, YOU CAN SEND THAT SIGNAL MUCH MORE EFFICIENTLY.

STEWART: BREAKING SPEECH INTO SOUNDS GAVE DUDLEY ANOTHER IDEA.

MAYBE IT WAS POSSIBLE TO CREATE SPEECH WITHOUT THE NEED FOR A HUMAN VOICE AT ALL.

DUDLEY'S BREAKTHROUGHS WOULDN'T SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF TRANSATLANTIC PHONE CALLS, BUT IT WILL HAVE PROFOUND REPERCUSSIONS FOR HUMANKIND.

[ELECTRONIC VOICES] DOUG, HI.

HI, JIM.

HI, PLEASURE TO MEET YOU.

GREAT TO MEET YOU.

SO THIS IS YOUR REPLICA OF THE FAMOUS VODER?

THIS IS A REPRODUCTION OF THE ORIGINAL WITH MODERN ELECTRONICS.

EACH ONE OF THESE KEYS UNDER MY FINGERS HERE IS A DIFFERENT BAND.

EACH BAND WOULD BE ASSOCIATED WITH A FREQUENCY.

AND IF YOU PLAY THEM IN THE RIGHT ORDER AND IN THE RIGHT COMBINATIONS, YOU CAN ACTUALLY GET IT TO MIMIC HUMAN SPEECH.

CAN I TAKE A SPIN AT IT?

OH, BY ALL MEANS.

OK, I'LL-- HERE YOU GO.

HERE GOES NOTHING.

STEWART: BELL LABS SHOWCASED DUDLEY'S TALKING MACHINE AT THE 1939 NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR.

IT BECAME A HUGE HIT.

[ELECTRONIC VOICES] MEIGS: DUDLEY'S VODER WAS A VERY EXCITING EXHIBIT.

A PERSON COULD ACTUALLY SIT AT A KEYBOARD AND CREATE SPEECH.

MAN: SAY, "SHE SAW ME."

MACHINE: SHE SAW ME.

MEIGS: YOU CAN LITERALLY TALK THROUGH YOUR HANDS USING THIS MACHINE.

MAN: NOW SAY IT IN ANSWER TO THESE QUESTIONS.

WHO SAW YOU?

MACHINE: SHE SAW ME.

WHO DID SHE SEE?

SHE SAW ME.

MEIGS: SO IT WAS A BIG HIT AT THE WORLD'S FAIR, BUT IT DOESN'T REALLY HAVE THAT MUCH COMMERCIAL APPLICATION AT THIS POINT.

UM.

[BONK] FOR ONE THING, IT WAS INCREDIBLY HARD TO OPERATE, AND EVEN THEN, THE RESULTS REALLY WEREN'T PERFECT.

[ELECTRONIC SOUNDS] IT ALMOST SOUNDS LIKE SOMEBODY MUMBLING ANYWAY.

IT'S A GOOD MUMBLE.

MEIGS: SO IT WAS KIND OF SITTING ON THE SHELF AT BELL LABS, BUT THEN ALONG COMES WORLD WAR II.

THE JAPANESE ATTACK PEARL HARBOR.

THE U.S.

JOINS WITH ITS ALLY BRITAIN, AND THEY REALIZE THAT WESTERN CIVILIZATION IS IN FOR THE FIGHT OF ITS LIFE, AND IN ORDER TO CONDUCT THAT FIGHT, THEY NEEDED TO BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE IN SECRET AROUND THE WORLD.

ALL OF THE SUDDEN, DUDLEY'S VODER TECHNOLOGY LOOKS VERY EXCITING.

THE MILITARY REALIZED IT COULD BE THE FOUNDATION OF A MUCH MORE ADVANCED AND MUCH MORE SECURE SYSTEM FOR ENCRYPTED COMMUNICATIONS.

STEWART: IN DECEMBER 1941, BRITISH INTELLIGENCE DISCOVERED THAT NAZI CODE BREAKERS WERE INTERCEPTING ROOSEVELT AND CHURCHILL'S CALLS.

HITLER WAS READING THEIR EVERY WORD.

SECURING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN WASHINGTON AND LONDON WAS OF THE UTMOST URGENCY.

WORK BEGAN ON A TOP SECRET ENCRYPTED TELEPHONE SYSTEM CODENAMED SIGSALY.

THEY ENLISTED SOME OF THE WORLD'S MOST BRILLIANT MINDS, INCLUDING BRITISH POLYMATH ALAN TURING, WHO HAD JUST HELPED CRACK THE ENIGMA CODE.

MEIGS: THE FIRST STEP WAS TO ANALYZE THE SPEECH ITSELF AND BREAK IT DOWN TO SOMETHING MORE LIKE A CODE.

STEWART: USING DUDLEY'S VOCODER TECHNOLOGY, THEY SLICED UP SPEECH INTO NUMBERS.

MEIGS: WHAT WAS SO BRILLIANT ABOUT CONVERTING HUMAN SPEECH, THE WAVEFORM, INTO NUMBERS IS THAT NUMBERS ARE EASILY SCRAMBLED.

YOU CAN EASILY COME UP WITH A SYSTEM TO MAKE THOSE NUMBERS LOOK RANDOM.

STEWART: A SECOND RANDOM SOUND WAS ADDED TO THE SIGNAL THAT SCRAMBLED THE VOICE... [ELECTRONIC SOUNDS] AND THEN SUBTRACTED AT THE RECEIVING END OF THE CONVERSATION, UNSCRAMBLING THE MESSAGE.

THE CONVERSATION WOULD BE SECURE AS LONG AS BOTH MACHINES WERE SYNCHRONIZED.

MEIGS: THE AMAZING THING ABOUT THE SIGSALY COMMUNICATION SYSTEM WAS JUST HOW COMPLICATED IT WAS.

50 TONS OF EQUIPMENT, AN ARMY OF PEOPLE TO OPERATE A HUGE AMOUNT OF ELECTRIC POWER.

IT WAS INSANELY DETAILED TO ACHIEVE SOMETHING SEEMINGLY SIMPLE-- TWO PEOPLE TALKING TO EACH OTHER IN REAL TIME.

I SERIOUSLY DOUBT THAT THIS MASSIVE EXPENDITURE OF EFFORT AND RESOURCE AND TIME AND MONEY AND TALENT WOULD HAVE EVER HAPPENED IF IT WEREN'T FOR THE EXTREME NEED FOR COMMUNICATION IN WARTIME.

STEWART: SIGSALY WAS THE WORLD'S FIRST ENCRYPTED WIRELESS TELEPHONE, AND ROOSEVELT AND CHURCHILL USED IT FROM JULY 1943.

THE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE DIRECTLY, AND IN SECRET, PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN SAVING CIVILIZATION FROM FASCISM.

SIGSALY WAS NEVER CRACKED.

MEIGS: THE SIGSALY SYSTEM WASN'T JUST AN AMAZINGLY COMPLICATED RADIO TELEPHONE.

BECAUSE THE DATA WAS TRANSMITTED IN DISCREET BITS, IT WAS REALLY THE FIRST DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE.

THE REVOLUTION OF DIGITAL MEANS TAKING COMPLICATED THINGS, REDUCING THEM TO SIMPLE NUMBERS THAT THEN ALLOW YOU TO RECONSTITUTE THAT COMPLICATED THING IN ANOTHER TIME OR PLACE.

STEWART: WHILE SIGSALY MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR TWO PEOPLE TO HAVE AN ENCRYPTED CONVERSATION, TO TRANSMIT THOUSANDS OF CONVERSATIONS AT ONCE MEANT WORKING OUT HOW TO BREAK THOSE CONVERSATIONS INTO THOUSANDS OF PIECES, AND PUTTING EACH ONE BACK TOGETHER AGAIN IN THE RIGHT WAY.

AND THAT WOULD TAKE A HOLLYWOOD STARLET AND A PIANO.

WOMAN: IN THE EARLY 1940s, HEDY LAMARR IS A NATIONAL SENSATION.

I FEEL A LITTLE CONFUSED, BUT I'M GLAD YOU LIKE IT.

LE: SHE'S LABELED AS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN THE WORLD.

STEWART: BUT AWAY FROM THE SILVER SCREEN, HEDY LED A DOUBLE LIFE AS AN INVENTOR.

LE: AS AN INVENTOR, AS AN ENTREPRENEUR, AND ALSO AS AN IMMIGRANT REFUGEE, I AM SO FASCINATED BY THIS INCREDIBLE WOMAN WHO HERSELF IS AN INVENTOR AND AN IMMIGRANT AND IN MANY WAYS A PIONEER.

STEWART: HEDY INVENTED A DISSOLVABLE TABLET THAT TURNED WATER INTO COLA.

INSPIRED BY BIRDS AND FISH, SHE STREAMLINED PLANE WINGS SO THEY COULD FLY FASTER.

BUT IT WAS HER TROUBLED PAST THAT WOULD ULTIMATELY LEAD HER TO INVENT A CRITICAL PART OF THE SMARTPHONE.

OHH!

HOW ARE YOU?

THANK YOU.

IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU.

THIS IS MY MOTHER WHEN SHE WAS A CHILD IN VIENNA, AUSTRIA.

OH, WOW.

THIS IS HER AS A LITTLE BABY GIRL.

STEWART: HEDY WAS BORN INTO A WEALTHY JEWISH FAMILY IN VIENNA, AND AT AN EARLY AGE, SHE SHOWED A LOVE FOR INVENTION.

HER FATHER FILLED HER INQUISITIVE MIND WITH EXPLANATIONS OF EVERYDAY OBJECTS.

NOBODY COULD HAVE IMAGINED THAT THIS LITTLE GIRL WOULD GROW UP TO BECOME HOLLYWOOD'S LEADING LADY.

DIRECTOR: CUT.

THANK YOU, HEDY.

THAT'S A WRAP FOR TODAY.

STEWART: BUT HER JOURNEY WAS A LONG AND TROUBLED ONE.

IN 1933, AGED JUST 19, SHE MARRIED FRITZ MANDL, AN AUSTRIAN AMMUNITIONS TYCOON WHO HAD LINKS WITH THE NAZIS.

["WEDDING MARCH" PLAYING] [APPLAUSE] HEDY WOULD WITNESS SECRET DISCUSSIONS ABOUT MILITARY TECHNOLOGY.

MANDL WAS SO POSSESSIVE OF HIS BEAUTIFUL WIFE, THAT IT WAS MORE THAN HEDY COULD BEAR.

A YEAR BEFORE THE NAZI OCCUPATION OF AUSTRIA, HEDY FLED FOR LONDON.

AND THEN ONTO HOLLYWOOD... WHERE SHE BECAME A STAR.

BY 1940, HEDY LAMARR IS SURROUNDED BY GLAMOUR AND SUCCESS, BUT SHE DOESN'T FORGET HER LOVE OF APPLIED SCIENCE.

IN 1941, HEDY APPLIED THIS SKILL TO TURN THE TIDE ON WORLD WAR II.

IN THE 1940s, HITLER IS WINNING THE WAR IN EUROPE.

HIS U-BOATS ALL BUT CONTROL THE ATLANTIC.

HUNDREDS OF INNOCENT CIVILIANS DIE AS ALLIED SHIPS ARE SUNK ON AN ALMOST DAILY BASIS.

THE PROBLEM IS U-BOATS ARE FAST AND AGILE, AND THE ALLIED TORPEDOES ARE NOT VERY ACCURATE.

AMERICA IS STILL NEUTRAL, BUT HEDY IS DESPERATE TO HELP FIGHT THE NAZIS.

SHE WROTE, "I TRIED TO THINK OF SOME WAY "TO EVEN THE BALANCE FOR THE BRITISH.

A RADIO-CONTROLLED TORPEDO, I THOUGHT, WOULD DO IT."

STEWART: A TORPEDO THAT CAN ADJUST ITS TRAJECTORY WOULD CERTAINLY INCREASE ITS ACCURACY, BUT THERE WAS A PROBLEM.

RADIO COMMUNICATIONS WEREN'T SECURE.

GERMAN U-BOATS COULD EASILY JAM THE FREQUENCY, DISABLING THE TORPEDO BEFORE IMPACT.

MAN: MY MOTHER SAID, "IF I CAN MAKE RADIO TRANSMISSIONS PRIVATE, THEN THEY CAN BE USED TO ALTER THE COURSE OF TORPEDOES SECURELY."

AND SHE CAME UP WITH FREQUENCY HOPPING.

STEWART: THE IDEA WAS STRAIGHTFORWARD, AT LEAST.

[INDISTINCT RADIO ANNOUNCEMENTS] LE: INSTEAD OF SENDING A SIGNAL DOWN ONE SINGLE FREQUENCY BAND, SHE BREAKS UP THE SIGNAL AND SENDS IT ACROSS MULTIPLE FREQUENCY BANDS, AND THAT MAKES IT REALLY HARD TO INTERCEPT.

STEWART: ANYONE LISTENING FOR A SIGNAL ON A SINGLE, GIVEN FREQUENCY WOULD ONLY HEAR A BLIP, MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO JAM.

BUT AS LONG AS THE SENDER AND RECEIVER ARE SYNCHRONIZED, THE SIGNAL MAKES PERFECT SENSE.

ALL HEDY NEEDED WAS A MECHANISM TO IMPLEMENT HER IDEA, AND THAT WOULD TAKE AN ENCOUNTER WITH A HOLLYWOOD COMPOSER AND A PLAYER PIANO.

GEORGE ANTHEIL WAS FAMOUS FOR EXPERIMENTING WITH PLAYER PIANOS THAT PLAYED PREARRANGED MUSICAL SCORES.

HOLES WERE PUNCHED INTO A PAPER DRUM WITH 88 COLUMNS, ONE COLUMN FOR EACH NOTE.

WHEN ALL THE COLUMNS PLAYED BACK, THE FULL ARRANGEMENT PLAYED OUT.

HEDY REALIZED THAT SHE COULD APPLY A SIMILAR TECHNIQUE TO IMPLEMENT HER CHANNEL HOPPING IDEA.

SHE WROTE HER NAME IN LIPSTICK ON THE WINDSHIELD OF HIS CAR AS SHE LEFT, AND SHE SAID, "CALL ME."

SO HE DID, AND HE CAME OVER.

STEWART: HEDY AND GEORGE QUICKLY SKETCHED OUT THEIR IDEA.

A TRANSMITTER SENDS SIGNALS TO A TRANSMITTER ON THE TORPEDO, CONTINUOUSLY HOPPING BETWEEN DIFFERENT RADIO FREQUENCIES.

THEY CALLED IT A SPREAD SPECTRUM GUIDANCE SYSTEM.

SO, TAN, ONE OF THE MOST PRECIOUS THINGS I HAVE IS THIS LITTLE TINY PIECE OF PAPER.

THIS IS THE SEMINAL MOMENT THAT THIS CONCEPT WAS DRAWN ON PAPER, AND IT'S THE BACK OF AN ENVELOPE.

IT'S LIKE THEY CAME UP WITH THE IDEA, AND THEY HAD TO FIND SOMETHING TO QUICKLY JOT IT DOWN SO THEY WOULDN'T LOSE THE IDEA, THAT SPARK OF THE INVENTION.

THIS IS THE FIRST IMAGE OF A COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM, WHICH IS SECRET, IT'S PRIVATE, NOBODY CAN JAM THAT.

NOBODY CAN FIGURE OUT WHERE YOU'RE JUMPING TO NEXT.

ABSOLUTELY.

IT'S AMAZING.

STEWART: HEDY AND GEORGE PRESENTED THEIR SPREAD SPECTRUM TECHNOLOGY TO THE NAVY.

BUT THEIR PATENT WAS SCOFFED AT AND TURNED DOWN.

HEDY HELPED THE WAR EFFORT SELLING WAR BONDS INSTEAD.

TV ANNOUNCER: AMERICA'S WAR BOND CAMPAIGN IS IN FULL SWING, AND IT'S NOT SURPRISING TO FIND THAT HEDY LAMARR IS A BEST SELLER.

WHEN THIS PICTURE WAS TAKEN AT NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, SHE TOLD US THAT HER RECORD WAS $3.5 MILLION WORTH TO DATE.

LE: I THINK HEDY REALLY STRUGGLED TO FIND A BALANCE BETWEEN HOW SHE SAW HERSELF, WHICH WAS AS SOMEONE WHO HAD INTELLECT WHO HAPPENED TO BE BEAUTIFUL, AND HOW THE WORLD SAW HER, WHICH WAS ONLY AS A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN.

NARRATOR: HEDY'S SPREAD SPECTRUM GUIDANCE SYSTEM WAS EVENTUALLY ADOPTED IN SECRET DURING THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS.

BUT THE U.S. MILITARY DIDN'T CREDIT HER FOR THE INVENTION.

BUT WHEN IT WAS FINALLY DECLASSIFIED IN THE EARLY 1980s, IT WOULD PLAY A KEY PART IN THE CREATION OF THE SMARTPHONE.

LE: HEDY'S SPREAD SPECTRUM TECHNOLOGY IS VITAL TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF CELLULAR NETWORKS.

IT ALLOWS A MUCH LARGER CONCENTRATION OF USERS TO BE ON THE SAME NETWORK AT THE SAME TIME.

STEWART: MUCH LIKE HEDY LAMARR ENVISIONED, IT WORKS BY BREAKING EACH CONVERSATION DOWN INTO THOUSANDS OF PIECES AND TRANSMITTING THESE BITS ACROSS MULTIPLE FREQUENCIES BEFORE PUTTING EACH ONE BACK TOGETHER AGAIN IN THE RIGHT WAY AT THE RECEIVING END.

THIS MADE THE CELL NETWORK POSSIBLE, AND IT'S THE REASON WE CAN TRANSMIT BILLIONS OF MEGABYTES OF DATA TODAY.

BUT TO SHIFT ALL THIS DATA FROM A DEVICE THAT FITS INTO THE PALM OF YOUR HAND CLEARLY REQUIRED ANOTHER GIGANTIC LEAP.

IN FACT, IF IT WASN'T FOR ONE MAN WHO STAYED AT WORK WHEN EVERYONE ELSE WAS ON VACATION, WE MAY NEVER HAVE HAD SO MANY ELECTRICAL DEVICES WE NOW TAKE FOR GRANTED, NEVER MIND THE SMARTPHONE.

AS MANY OF THE STAFF OF TEXAS INSTRUMENTS SET OFF ON THEIR SUMMER VACATIONS IN JULY 1958, ELECTRONICS ENGINEER JACK KILBY STAYED PUT.

AS A NEW EMPLOYEE, HE WASN'T ALLOWED TO TAKE TIME OFF.

LEFT ALONE, KILBY SET TO WORK ON A PROJECT OF PERSONAL INTEREST.

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS HAD RELEASED THEIR FIRST TRANSISTOR RADIO IN 1954.

THE REGENCY TR1, AS IT WAS CALLED, HAD CAUSED A STIR.

USING TRANSISTORS IN THE ELECTRONICS INSTEAD OF VALVES, THE TR1 HAD TRANSFORMED THE RADIO FROM A BULKY PIECE OF FURNITURE INTO THE FIRST PORTABLE ENTERTAINMENT DEVICE.

KILBY REALIZED THAT THIS MINIATURIZATION MADE IT POSSIBLE TO BUILD MORE COMPLEX MACHINES.

BUT THERE WAS A PROBLEM.

WHEN AN ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT REACHED A CERTAIN LEVEL OF COMPLEXITY, THE TIME AND COST IT TOOK TO FIT THE INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS AND THEN WIRE THEM TOGETHER BECAME PROHIBITIVELY EXPENSIVE.

IT WAS CALLED THE TYRANNY OF NUMBERS.

KILBY REALIZED THAT TO OVERCOME THIS OBSTACLE, HE NEEDED TO ELIMINATE THE SEPARATE COMPONENTS ALTOGETHER.

MASON: KILBY IS ALONE IN THE LABORATORY, EVERYONE'S GONE, AND HE HAS THIS FLASH OF INSPIRATION.

WHAT IF HE MADE THE ENTIRE CIRCUIT OUT OF THE SAME SEMI-CONDUCTING MATERIAL?

IF HE COULD PULL THIS OFF, THEN THE ENTIRE CIRCUIT COULD BE MADE SMALLER, MORE SCALABLE, AND EASIER TO PRODUCE.

HE COULD PULL OFF ONE OF THE GREAT INNOVATIONS IN HISTORY AND MAKE THESE CIRCUITS SMALLER AND SCALABLE.

STEWART: KILBY PUT TOGETHER A PROTOTYPE, BUILDING AN ENTIRE ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT OUT OF ONE PIECE OF GERMANIUM, AND CALLED IT AN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT.

MASON: THIS IS A REALLY WOW MOMENT.

IT REALLY DID TAKE A BIG JUMP IN THE IMAGINATION TO THINK OF MAKING EVERYTHING ON ONE MATERIAL AT THE SAME TIME.

STEWART: ON SEPTEMBER 12, 1958, KILBY REVEALED HIS FIRST WORKING INTEGRATED CIRCUIT, CHANGING THE WORLD FOREVER.

ONCE WE ADD AN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT, IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME TO GET FROM THAT TO THIS-- THE MICROCHIP.

MASON: INTEGRATED CIRCUITS BEGIN TO REVOLUTIONIZE ELECTRONICS, THINGS LIKE TELEPHONES, RADIOS, AND ESPECIALLY COMPUTERS.

THESE ALL BECOME MORE POWERFUL, SMALLER, AND MORE PORTABLE.

STEWART: ISAAC ASIMOV HAILED IT AS "THE MOST IMPORTANT MOMENT SINCE MAN EMERGED AS A LIFE FORM."

MASON: KILBY'S INNOVATION REALLY CHANGED THE WORLD.

IT WAS THIS WORK THAT ENABLED THE MINIATURIZATION OF CIRCUITS AND THAT ENABLED THE CELLPHONE.

STEWART: IN 1973, MOTOROLA INVENTED THE FIRST BULKY CELLPHONE.

OVER THE NEXT TWO DECADES, CELLPHONES BECAME SMALLER AND MORE AND MORE POWERFUL DEVICES.

BUT AS INCREDIBLE AS THE CELLPHONE WAS, IT WOULD TAKE A FATHER AND A NEWBORN BABY TO HELP THE CELLPHONE BECOME TRULY SMART.

IN JUNE OF 1997, SOFTWARE ENGINEER PHILIPPE KAHN SENT THE FIRST DIGITAL PICTURE THROUGH A CELLPHONE.

KAHN: I'M HOLDING THE BABY IN MY LEFT HAND, AND I'M HOLDING THE CAMERA IN THE OTHER ONE.

IT WENT OUT TO ABOUT 2,000 PEOPLE-- FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND BUSINESS CONNECTIONS.

MY DAUGHTER WAS BORN LIKE 15 MINUTES AGO.

POINT, SHOOT, AND SHARE INSTANTLY.

I MEAN, PEOPLE WANT THIS.

STEWART: THE WORLD WAS SOON TALKING ABOUT SOPHIE'S IMAGE.

"TIME" MAGAZINE HAILED IT AS ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PHOTOS OF ALL TIME.

KAHN: ON THAT DAY, JUNE 11, 1997, THERE WERE TWO BIRTHS, AND THE MOST IMPORTANT WAS MY DAUGHTER SOPHIE, OBVIOUSLY, AND THE CAMERA PHONE.

STEWART: BUT SENDING PHOTOS WASN'T THE END OF THE STORY.

AT THE END OF THE DAY, DATA IS DATA.

IF YOU CAN SEND A PHOTO, WHY NOT A SONG OR A VIDEO?

IF YOU CAN SEND A VIDEO, WHY NOT DO SOMETHING ALEXANDER BELL COULDN'T HAVE EVER DREAMED OF-- SPEAK FACE-TO-FACE ACROSS ENTIRE CONTINENTS?

AND ULTIMATELY, WHY NOT TIE IT ALL TO THE VERY THING THAT HAS BECOME ESSENTIAL TO OUR MODERN WORLD-- THE INTERNET.

LE: THE SMARTPHONE HAS BEEN AN INCREDIBLE FORCE FOR NOT JUST TRANSFORMING THE WAY THAT WE COMMUNICATE EFFORTLESSLY WITH EACH OTHER, BUT IT'S ALSO THE HUB FOR ACCESS TO INFORMATION.

IF YOU LOOK AT EXPLOSION OF THE MYRIAD OF APPLICATIONS THAT ARE OUT THERE THAT ARE SUPPORTED ON PHONE PLATFORM, YOU CAN SEE HOW IT HAS FUNDAMENTALLY TRANSFORMED THE WAY THAT WE LIVE AS WELL.

STEWART: WE CAN NOW USE SMARTPHONES TO CONTROL OUR ENVIRONMENT.

WE HAVE ACCESS TO SO MUCH INFORMATION, IT'S EVEN CHANGING OUR BRAINS.

TODAY WE REMEMBER LESS BY KNOWING INFORMATION THAN BY KNOWING WHERE THE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND.

BUT PERHAPS THE BIGGEST BREAKTHROUGH IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER.

LE: TODAY WE ARE USING OUR GESTURES AND OUR FINGERS TO INDICATE WHAT WE WANT ON A COMPUTER, BUT THE NEXT STEP OF THE REVOLUTION IS EVEN MORE EXCITING.

STEWART: HERE IN A SAN FRANCISCO LAB, NEW SMARTPHONE TECHNOLOGY IS BEING DEVELOPED USING BIOLOGICAL SENSORS TO TAKE INSTRUCTIONS DIRECTLY FROM OUR BRAINS.

ERICA IS WEARING A HEADSET THAT READS HER BRAINWAVES.

THOSE BRAINWAVES ARE TRANSMITTED TO THE SMARTPHONE, WHICH TRANSLATES THOSE ELECTRICAL IMPULSES INTO COMMANDS THAT CAN THEN BE USED TO DRIVE THE ROBOTIC BALL.

IMAGINE THE EFFICIENCIES THAT YOU WILL GET ONCE WE CAN TAP DIRECTLY INTO THE BRAIN SO THAT THE COMPUTING PLATFORMS OF THE FUTURE CAN ANTICIPATE WHAT YOU WANT SEAMLESSLY AND YOU CAN SEND INFORMATION AT THE SPEED OF THOUGHT.

WE CAN BRING THE HUMAN ELEMENT INTO THIS ENTIRE ECOSYSTEM.

WE WILL BE THIS FULLY CONNECTED ORGANISM.

THE HUMAN BECOMES A PART OF THE ENVIRONMENT, AND THE ENVIRONMENT BECOMES AN EXTENSION OF OUR BRAIN.

STEWART: USING OUR MINDS TO CONTROL OUR SMARTPHONES, THEY WILL BECOME OUR WIRELESS INTERFACE WITH THE WORLD.

THE SMARTPHONE FULFILLS A DREAM THAT IS SURPRISINGLY ANCIENT, THE CULMINATION OF REMARKABLE STORIES AND PIONEERS STRETCHING BACK 2,000 YEARS, FROM FRANK KILBY'S MISSED VACATION THAT GAVE THE WORLD THE INTEGRATED CIRCUIT AND POWERFUL MINIATURIZED COMPUTERS TO HEDY LAMARR'S DETERMINATION TO DEFEAT THE NAZIS THAT GAVE US THE CELLULAR NETWORK TO HOMER DUDLEY'S OBSESSION WITH HUMAN SPEECH THAT LED TO COVERT COMMUNICATION DURING WORLD WAR II AND THE DIGITAL AGE, RIGHT BACK THROUGH MARCONI'S FASCINATION WITH SHIP-TO-SHORE COMMUNICATIONS, BELL'S INFATUATION WITH AN ELECTRONIC EAR, AND THE TRAGIC, DEATH OF MORSE'S WIFE, ALL THE WAY BACK TO POLYBIUS, THE MAN THAT USED COMMUNICATION TO WIN A WAR.

WITHOUT THEM AND THEIR INCREDIBLE STORIES, WE WOULD NEVER HAVE THE SMARTPHONE.

STEWART: NEXT TIME ON "BREAKTHROUGH," THE MACHINE THAT DISCOVERED THE UNIVERSE.

IT WOULD TAKE CRYSTALS FORGED INSIDE THE EARTH, JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF SALT, A CHANCE ALIGNMENT OF TWO SMALL PIECES OF GLASS TO CREATE THE DEVICE THAT WOULD OPEN OUR EYES TO THE UNIVERSE ITSELF-- THE TELESCOPE.

ANNOUNCER: TO ORDER "BREAKTHROUGH: THE IDEAS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD" ON DVD, VISIT SHOPPBS, OR CALL 1-800-PLAY-PBS.

THIS PROGRAM IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON AMAZON PRIME VIDEO.