Lamarr termed the technique "frequency hopping, " a forerunner of the spread-spectrum technology that is used today in communications applications such as Wi-Fi.

WSJ: Book Review: Hedy's Folly

What is new is the frequency of people's contact with them and how easily they can now be spread around the world.

CNN: Tracking deadly viruses' spread from animals to humans

The radiation just spread out into space - where it still is and can be detected as weak waves of radio frequency.

BBC: Pictures of the early Universe