  The dynamics of strongly interacting particles are governed by Yang-Mills
(Y-M) theory, which is a natural generalization of Maxwell Electrodynamics
(ED). Its quantized version is known as quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and has
been very well studied. Classical Y-M theory is proving to be equally
interesting because of the central role it plays in describing the physics of
quark-gluon plasma (QGP)-which was prevalent in the early universe and is also
produced in relativistic heavy ion collision experiments. This calls for a
systematic study of classical Y-M theories. A good insight into classical Y-M
dynamics would be best obtained by comparing and contrasting the Y-M results
with their ED counterparts. In this article, a beginning has been made by
considering streaming instabilities in Y-M fluids. We find that in addition to
analogues of ED instabilities, novel nonabelian modes arise, reflecting the
inherent nonabelian nature of the interaction. The new modes exhibit
propagation/ growth, with growth rates that can be larger than what we find in
ED. Interestingly, we also find a mode that propagates without getting affected
by the medium.
