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>A software malfunction in a microwave oven, or some other device with a heating element, could cause a house fire... Now I'm curious. Does anyone know the ma

>A software malfunction in a microwave oven, or some other device with a heating element, could cause a house fire... Now I'm curious. Does anyone know the manufacturer and model number for a microwave for which this is true? Have we really replaced hardware thermal switches, fuses, etc. with firmware?

MaxBarraclough 6y ago
Perhaps microwaves have hardware protections to prevent heating when the door is open, but a software error could presumably still have it spring to life unexpectedly, which could potentially be dangerous. It's a (perversely) interesting creative exercise to think of catastrophic consequences that might follow from the failure of a system we don't normally think of as critical. Let's restrict it to physical systems, excluding concerns like being banned from Gmail, and issues like misinformation and extremism spreading through social media. • A bug in a sound driver could cause hearing damage, especially if someone is using earphones • Perhaps a bug in a graphics driver could be dangerous to people with epilepsy • A bug in a laptop's battery-management system could cause a fire on an airliner • A bug in an overclocking tool, or in motherboard firmware, wouldn't typically cause a fire, but perhaps • We know that bugs in satnav systems can cause inattentive drivers to cause serious accidents • A bug in an app about food intolerances could have severe consequences. A graphics/rendering bug, perhaps in the OS, could cause the app to misrender.
- userbinator 6y ago
  Perhaps microwaves have hardware protections to prevent heating when the door is open, but a software error could presumably still have it spring to life unexpectedly, which could potentially be dangerous AFAIK, the magnetron power supply is physicaly connected through multiple door switches, so this is an actual unoverridable and redundant disconnect. One switch shorts out the supply when the door is opened, so that if the others fail, it will still blow the fuse and cut power. I'm pretty sure that design is due to regulation, so I don't see it ever being replaced by software.

MaxBarraclough 6y ago

Perhaps microwaves have hardware protections to prevent heating when the door is open, but a software error could presumably still have it spring to life unexpectedly, which could potentially be dangerous. It's a (perversely) interesting creative exercise to think of catastrophic consequences that might follow from the failure of a system we don't normally think of as critical. Let's restrict it to physical systems, excluding concerns like being banned from Gmail, and issues like misinformation and extremism spreading through social media. • A bug in a sound driver could cause hearing damage, especially if someone is using earphones • Perhaps a bug in a graphics driver could be dangerous to people with epilepsy • A bug in a laptop's battery-management system could cause a fire on an airliner • A bug in an overclocking tool, or in motherboard firmware, wouldn't typically cause a fire, but perhaps • We know that bugs in satnav systems can cause inattentive drivers to cause serious accidents • A bug in an app about food intolerances could have severe consequences. A graphics/rendering bug, perhaps in the OS, could cause the app to misrender.

userbinator 6y ago
Perhaps microwaves have hardware protections to prevent heating when the door is open, but a software error could presumably still have it spring to life unexpectedly, which could potentially be dangerous AFAIK, the magnetron power supply is physicaly connected through multiple door switches, so this is an actual unoverridable and redundant disconnect. One switch shorts out the supply when the door is opened, so that if the others fail, it will still blow the fuse and cut power. I'm pretty sure that design is due to regulation, so I don't see it ever being replaced by software.