Why a new physics theory could rewrite the textbooks

One way to look at color is to consider it a frequency or a range of frequencies. Colors are, after all, a result of a frequency of light (electromagnetic waves).

I wonder if the "color" of quarks is similar; is it a set of possible frequencies at which the particle can oscillate? Are the interactions of quarks based on some kind of resonance? Am I even in the ballpark here?

(Is this post going to expose me for being a complete idiot?)

I'm pretty sure it's just particle physicists being whimsical and using "color charge" to describe the quality quarks possess that's related to them interacting with other quarks. Nothing to do with vibration, resonance, or anything else, they just needed something to call the different things, and went with "color".

Huh. Interesting. I thought there might be some kind of known phenomenon with quarks that provides a reason for how they react. Maybe at that scale, it's pretty much impossible to observe anything like at what frequency they may or may not vibrate.

Thing is, colo(u)r* as we know and see it is based around the electromagnetic force. All of chemistry, essentially. The strong nuclear interaction force (which operates QCD) is essentially the most powerful force in the universe, but it acts only in an extremely small range. Conversely, gravity is actually the weakest of the four fundamental forces, but it has the biggest range and is responsible for all the large-scale structures in the universe. Its also the case that not all forces act on all particles, Neutrinos do not interact at all with electromagneticm (hence are literally 'neutral'), but can interact through gravity and through the weak nuclear interaction force (which for example drives/operates radioactivity).

*I'm always torn between British and American spelling there!

I know the strong and weak nuclear forces are what govern things like quarks and the protons they constitute. I just figured there would be some sort of similar properties when it comes to oscillation.