http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Cloud wrote:
<<The Black Cloud is a science fiction novel written by astrophysicist Sir Fred Hoyle. Published in 1957, the book details the arrival of an enormous cloud of gas that enters the solar system and threatens to destroy most of the life on Earth by blocking the Sun's radiation.
In 1964, astrophysicists on earth become aware of an immense cloud of gas that enters the solar system. The cloud, moving to interpose itself between the sun and the earth, could wipe out most of the life on earth by blocking solar radiation and ending photosynthesis. A cadre of astronomers and other scientists is drawn together in Nortonstowe, England, to study the cloud and report to the British government about the consequences of its presence.
As the behaviour of the cloud proves to be impossible to predict scientifically, they come to the conclusion that it might be a life-form with a degree of intelligence. In an act of desperation, the scientists try to communicate with the cloud, which, to their surprise, is actually successful. The cloud is revealed to be a super-organism, many times more intelligent, who in return is surprised to find intelligent life-forms on a solid planet.
When the astronomers ask the cloud how its lifeform originated, it replies that they always existed. One of the characters suggests this is incompatible with the Big Bang theory. Thus it may be that Hoyle was hinting at his own Steady State theory of the existence of the universe, which has since been disproved by the discovery of cosmic background radiation.
The cloud then learns that another intelligent cloud has stopped communicating and may have mysteriously vanished. This happens around another star, not too distant in the cloud's terms. So the cloud decides unexpectedly to move on. Two of the scientists die in an attempt to learn the cloud's own language through visual signals, in order to gain further insights about the universe.
Plausibility
Using a computer model of molecular dynamics, an international team has discovered that, under the right conditions, particles of inorganic dust can become organized into helical structures. These structures can interact with one another in ways that are usually associated with organic compounds and with life. Not only do these helical strands interact in a counter-intuitive way in which like can attract like, but they also undergo changes that are normally associated with biological molecules, such as DNA and proteins, say the researchers. For example, they can divide to form two copies of the original structure. These new structures can also interact to induce changes in their neighbours. And they can even evolve into yet more structures as less stable ones break down, leaving behind only the fittest structures in the plasma. 'These complex, self-organized plasma structures exhibit all the necessary properties to qualify them as candidates for inorganic living matter,' said the lead researcher. 'They are autonomous, they reproduce and they evolve.'" The research, published in the New Journal of Physics 2007, was carried out using a computer model of molecular dynamics.>>
