Braid group

In mathematics: the braid group on n strands, denoted by Bn, is a group that generalizes the symmetric group Sn. Here, n is a natural number, representing a number of points to be permuted as strands. The presented monoid of elements from the symmetric group defines a permutation of those points from the initial to final configuration. An element of the braid group describes an initial and final configuration of these points, as well as how the stepwise configurations are composed by continuously moving the initial points to their final configurations. If n > 1, then Bn is an infinite group.