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  2. Normal (geometry) - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_(geometry)

    In geometry, a normal is an object (e.g. a line, ray, or vector) that is perpendicular to a given object. For example, the normal line to a plane curve at a given point is the line perpendicular to the tangent line to the curve at the point. A normal vector of length one is called a unit normal vector.

  3. Method of normals - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_normals

    In calculus, the method of normals was a technique invented by Descartes for finding normal and tangent lines to curves. It represented one of the earliest methods for constructing tangents to curves. The method hinges on the observation that the radius of a circle is always normal to the circle itself. With this in mind Descartes would ...

  4. Analytic geometry - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analytic_geometry

    In geometry, a normal is an object such as a line or vector that is perpendicular to a given object. For example, in the two-dimensional case, the normal line to a curve at a given point is the line perpendicular to the tangent line to the curve at the point. In the three-dimensional case a surface normal, or simply normal, to a surface at a ...

  5. Tangent - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangent

    The line perpendicular to the tangent line to a curve at the point of tangency is called the normal line to the curve at that point. The slopes of perpendicular lines have product −1, so if the equation of the curve is y = f(x) then slope of the normal line is /

  6. Curl (mathematics) - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curl_(mathematics)

    In vector calculus, the curl, also known as rotor, is a vector operator that describes the infinitesimal circulation of a vector field in three-dimensional Euclidean space. The curl at a point in the field is represented by a vector whose length and direction denote the magnitude and axis of the maximum circulation. [ 1 ]

  7. Frenet–Serret formulas - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frenet–Serret_formulas

    The first Frenet-Serret formula holds by the definition of the normal N and the curvature κ, and the third Frenet-Serret formula holds by the definition of the torsion τ. Thus what is needed is to show the second Frenet-Serret formula. Since T, N, B are orthogonal unit vectors with B = T × N, one also has T = N × B and N = B × T.

  8. Flux - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flux

    The flux through each patch is equal to the normal (perpendicular) component of the field, the dot product of F(x) with the unit normal vector n(x) (blue arrows) at the point x multiplied by the area dS. The sum of F · n, dS for each patch on the surface is the flux through the surface. Here are 3 definitions in increasing order of complexity.

  9. Normal plane (geometry) - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_plane_(geometry)

    The normal section of a surface at a particular point is the curve produced by the intersection of that surface with a normal plane. [1] [2] [3] The curvature of the normal section is called the normal curvature. If the surface is bow or cylinder shaped, the maximum and the minimum of these curvatures are the principal curvatures.