>Thanks Neil,
>
>I'll take a look at Branes M theory.
>
>Regards,
>
>LelandJ

You will find "branes" (as in membranes) and "M theory" in discussions on string theory (or superstring theory).

The most fundamental structures in the Universe are supposed to be vibrational patterns on strings. Everything we can observer (like subatomic particles) can ultimately be traced back to vibrating strings, if I understand the string theory correctly.

On the other hand, a one-dimensional string is only a special case of higher-dimensional structures, generically called "branes".

"M theory" is one special part of the string theory that tries to bring together different (reconcile) other flavors of the string theory.

String theory has apparently explained some observations more satisfactorily than previous theories, at the "cost" of making our Universe still weirder - just when we thought it couldn't get worse, what with the theory of relativity and quantum physics. For instance, according to string theory, our World has 9 (or 10) space dimensions, and one time dimension. Only 3 of the space dimensions appear on a large scale; for some reason, the other 6 or 7 space dimensions are somehow wrapped up.