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Illustration of tangential and normal components of a vector to a surface. In mathematics, given a vector at a point on a curve, that vector can be decomposed uniquely as a sum of two vectors, one tangent to the curve, called the tangential component of the vector, and another one perpendicular to the curve, called the normal component of the vector.
A normal vector of length one is called a unit normal vector. A curvature vector is a normal vector whose length is the curvature of the object. Multiplying a normal vector by −1 results in the opposite vector, which may be used for indicating sides (e.g., interior or exterior).
On the example of a torus knot, the tangent vector T, the normal vector N, and the binormal vector B, along with the curvature κ(s), and the torsion τ(s) are displayed. At the peaks of the torsion function the rotation of the Frenet–Serret frame (T,N,B) around the tangent vector is clearly visible.
In mathematics, a tangent vector is a vector that is tangent to a curve or surface at a given point. Tangent vectors are described in the differential geometry of curves in the context of curves in R n. More generally, tangent vectors are elements of a tangent space of a differentiable manifold. Tangent vectors can also be described in terms of ...
Saddle surface with normal planes in directions of principal curvatures. In geometry, a normal plane is any plane containing the normal vector of a surface at a particular point. The normal plane also refers to the plane that is perpendicular to the tangent vector of a space curve; (this plane also contains the normal vector) see Frenet ...
The tangent vector's magnitude ‖ ′ ‖ is the speed at the time t 0. The first Frenet vector e 1 (t) is the unit tangent vector in the same direction, defined at each regular point of γ: = ′ ‖ ′ ‖.
At each point p of a differentiable surface in 3-dimensional Euclidean space one may choose a unit normal vector. A normal plane at p is one that contains the normal vector, and will therefore also contain a unique direction tangent to the surface and cut the surface in a plane curve, called normal section. This curve will in general have ...
Developing the equation for , and grouping the terms in and , we obtain ˙ + ˙ = ¨ + ¨ = ˙ + ˙ Denoting =, the first equation means that is orthogonal to the unit tangent vector at : = The second relation means that = where = = ˙ + ˙ [¨ ¨] is the curvature vector.