Constant tangent component forces perpendicular principal normals

ID: constant-tangent-component-forces-perpendicular-principal-normals

For a regular curve with positive curvature of a space curve, the Frenet-Serret formulas give . If the unit tangent vector has constant component along a fixed vector , differentiation of gives . Hence every principal normal vector is perpendicular to that direction. Nonzero curvature is needed to define the principal normal.

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