Re: sound in space...I sent out the word to just about everyone to get a
consensus on this issue. And I got back some surprising responses from a
number of physicists, including none other than Freeman Dyson. The SF
community has always accepted, unquestioningly, almost as a shibboleth, the No
Sound In Space Is Possible theory. But what came back from Dyson and others
says, basically, that this ain't necessarily the case.

Eventually, I'll get around to collating all the info and uploading it
here. (But as one example, if a ship of very large size explodes, the
atmosphere within will expand outward, carrying with it the sound of the
explosion. It will fizzle fairly quickly, but if you're within the range of
the expanding bubble of air and sound, you'll hear something. Also, if a
ship explodes, if you're outside the bubble, floating in space without a ship
or a helmet, no, you won't hear it, but then that doesn't matter because
you're dead. If you're in another ship, outside the range of the expanding
air curtain, you'll hear sounds as the debris, radiation and other effects of
the explosion strike your hull, causing it to ring or otherwise reflect the
sound.)

In any event, I think that this particular shibboleth is going to have
to be reconsidered.

jms