Layers of Brilliance: The Breakthrough - Episode Four

The 1930s prove to be an exceptional decade for research at The General Electric Company. Katharine Burr Blodgett works closely alongside her boss, Irving Langmuir who, in 1932, wins the Nobel Prize for Chemistry . In 1938, Katharine’s meticulous experiments with thin film coatings on solid surfaces lead to her most important breakthrough: non-reflecting glass. The General Electric Company’s public relations machine kicks into high gear. Katharine becomes an overnight sensation, both in the scientific community and in the press, which dub her discovery “invisible glass.” The assistant to the Nobel Prize winner, long invisible herself, takes center stage. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

You can listen to Layers of Brilliance: The Breakthrough - Episode Four online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Layers of Brilliance: The Breakthrough - Episode Four is an episode from Lost Women of Science by Lost Women of Science.

This episode is 25:59 long.

This episode was published on Feb 26, 2026.

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