 In quantum electrodynamics, electrons are the central matter particle for the electromagnetic force. Using this as a model, and data from thousands of high-energy scattering and collision experiments over the last 25 years, we have come to understand that quarks are the central matter particle for the strong nuclear force. We have seen that an electron is a vibrating ripple in the electron matter field. Similarly, a quark is a vibrating ripple in the quark matter field. Electrons carry the electric charge that generates an electromagnetic force field. Quarks also carry electric charge, so they too generate an electromagnetic force field. Although with only one-third to two-thirds of a charge, their electromagnetic force field is weaker than the electrons. But it turns out they also carry a different kind of charge, we call color charge. This charge generates a gluon force field. This is a significant difference and we'll cover it in more detail shortly. We have seen that an accelerating electron creates a vibrating ripple in its electromagnetic field called a photon. Similarly, an accelerating quark creates a vibrating ripple in its gluon field called a gluon. And like photons, gluons are massless spin-1 particles making them bosons. And where photons can accelerate electrons, gluons can accelerate quarks. And where an energetic photon can create an electron-anti-electron or positron pair, an energetic gluon can create a quark-anti-quark pair. And where interacting electrons disturb the electric field in a way that creates virtual photons that exert the force of the electromagnetic field, the EM force. Interacting quarks disturb the gluon field in a way that creates virtual gluons that exert the force of the gluon field, the strong nuclear force. Note that the EM force can be attractive or repulsive depending on the charge, but the strong force is always attractive. So we can now add the gluon to our standard model of particle physics.