Euler formula for normal curvature (${\kappa }_n={\kappa }_1{\cos }^2\theta +{\kappa }_2{\sin }^2\theta$)

If a unit tangent makes angle $\theta$ with the first principal direction, the normal curvature is ${\kappa }_n={\kappa }_1{\cos }^2\theta +{\kappa }_2{\sin }^2\theta$. This follows by diagonalizing the second fundamental form relative to the first fundamental form. When the Gaussian curvature is nonnegative, $|{\kappa }_n|\le 2|H|$.

For directions spaced in the same rotational sense, Euler formula for normal curvature gives $k_n(\theta )=H+(k_1-k_2)\cos (2\theta )/2$. The sum of the $m$ equally spaced complex exponentials $e^{2i\theta +2\pi ij/m}$ is zero when $m\ge 2$, proving the formula. Consecutive unsigned angles alone do not imply this arrangement: they permit directions to double back.