Though never mentioned in either the cartoon or comic, subspace is generally considered a parallel space used by the Transformers for the purpose of shunting both mass and volume. This would explain where Optimus Prime's trailer goes when he goes into robot mode, as well as how it is multiple-ton robots are capable of converting into objects that are light enough to be held by humans. Subspace is also used to explain where weapons disappear to when not being held.
Many times, objects are seen appearing from and disappearing into what may be subspace. Optimus's trailer has been seen vanishing into thin air during transformation in the cartoon, while several Transformers have had guns appear in their hand in plain view.
The comic has made some attempt to rectify the situation without using the concept of subspace. At first, Optimus's trailer did not disappear upon transformation. Often, weapons that were not being used were shown attached to its owner's hip or back, held by some unseen force. However, this has proven insufficient (for example, Prime's trailer began pulling its appearance/disappearance trick relatively early on in the comic) and so the subspace theory has found general acceptance in that continuity as well.
The concept of subspace may be seen in other areas as well. The spacebridge clearly makes use of another dimension, allowing its users to travel through what appears to be a third-dimensional tunnel passing through a higher-order dimension. If the same could be done except with a "pocket" instead of a "tunnel", such a pocket of space could conceivably make up a portion of subspace. Other instances of such types of travel are seen in the comic as well (eg. the trans-dimensional portal, Sky Lynx's travel through "hyperspace"), and while the technology may be different, the same physics may be behind them all.
Mass-shunting is another phenomenon that may be related to subspace. Though such a task would certainly be more complex than simple volume-shunting (such as is the case with weapons), it is believed by some that the two are related, if only that they both make use of subspace. One competing theory is that Transformers who shrink make use of devices to make them "act" lighter, such as inertial dampeners and antigravity devices. Neither theory can be validated at this time.
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