Themes > Science > Physics > Elementary particle physics > Elementary particle physics Today > Branes > Super-membranes

A brane is a hyperdimensional membrane - just as a string is a hyperdimensional line.  It is a dimentional boundary layer of sorts.  The term "brane" is a play on ``membrane''.  Branes are defined by the number of dimensions.  A two-dimensional surface is a two-brane (D2-brane).  Three-dimensional space, such as the known physical universe is a three-brane (D3-brane) moving through time.  "D" stands for dimension.  So a D5-brane is a five dimensional hyper-surface which propagates in time, thus being a six dimensional space-time structure.


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