Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2019 / ii / Paper 2 / 25H / a / Solution

Put $T={\alpha }^{\prime }(s)$. Since $s$ is arc length, $|T|=1$, so $T^{\prime }\perp T$. The curvature of a space curve isWhere $k(s)\ne 0$, define the principal normal and binormal byand define the torsion of a space curve byThus torsion requires nonzero curvature, so that $N$ and $B$ are defined.

Differentiating the orthonormality relations for the frame $(T,N,B)$ shows that its derivative matrix is skew-symmetric. Since $T^{\prime }=kN$, differentiating $B=T\times N$ and using the definition of $\tau$ gives the Frenet-Serret formulas