Plutonium in pressure cookers

[Sight Unseen]

Originally Posted by auroraglacialis

But probably not many electronics specifically designed for a specific purpose that are used for a different and critical purpose. Its a difference if one uses a standard off the shelf microprocessor either in a washing machine, a TV or a space stations camera systems - or to use lets say a solar panel that was designed for dry climate and put it in the amazon.

Space shuttle guidance was done using IBM AP-101 ACM modules that were retrofitted from B52 bombers. Many satellites and interplanetary craft use IBM PowerPC cores. I designed a thermal management module that has the ability to cut off power and cooling to several million dollars of science if it fails. The MCU is an off-the-shelf Atmel ATMega 328P-AU, which costs $3.05.

Done derailing thread, sorry. I'm not defending the nuclear industry (I never did trust the regulatory bodies of the industry; they have good intentions but lack "teeth") just stating that just because something is designed to do one thing doesn't mean that it won't be really good at doing something else. Also, the article does not state if the cookers will be modified.