  The standard model of strong interactions invokes the quantum chromodynamics
(QCD) of quarks and gluons interacting within a fluid. At sufficiently small
length scales, the effective interactions between the color charged particles
within the fluid are thought to be weak. Short distance asymptotic freedom
provides the perturbation theory basis for comparisons between QCD theory and
laboratory high energy scattering experiments. It is here shown that the
asymptotically free vacuum has negative dissipation implicit in the color
electrical conductivity. Negative dissipation implies an asymptotically free
QCD negative temperature {\em excited state amplifier} unstable to decay. The
qualitative experimental implications of this instability are explored.
