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The curvature is the norm of the derivative of T with respect to s. By using the above formula and the chain rule this derivative and its norm can be expressed in terms of γ′ and γ″ only, with the arc-length parameter s completely eliminated, giving the above formulas for the curvature.
A plane curve with non-vanishing curvature has zero torsion at all points. Conversely, if the torsion of a regular curve with non-vanishing curvature is identically zero, then this curve belongs to a fixed plane. The curvature and the torsion of a helix are constant. Conversely, any space curve whose curvature and torsion are both constant and ...
The variation formula computations above define the principal symbol of the mapping which sends a pseudo-Riemannian metric to its Riemann tensor, Ricci tensor, or scalar curvature.
Theorema egregium of Gauss states that the Gaussian curvature of a surface can be expressed solely in terms of the first fundamental form and its derivatives, so that K is in fact an intrinsic invariant of the surface. An explicit expression for the Gaussian curvature in terms of the first fundamental form is provided by the Brioschi formula.
The principal radii of curvature are the eigenvalues of the inverse of the shape operator, the principal curvature directions are its eigenvectors, the reciprocal of the Gaussian curvature is its determinant, and the mean radius of curvature is half its trace. Note the similarity to the geometric properties of parallel curves.
Radius of curvature and center of curvature. In differential geometry, the radius of curvature, R, is the reciprocal of the curvature. For a curve, it equals the radius of the circular arc which best approximates the curve at that point. For surfaces, the radius of curvature is the radius of a circle that best fits a normal section or ...
The product k 1 k 2 of the two principal curvatures is the Gaussian curvature, K, and the average (k 1 + k 2)/2 is the mean curvature, H. If at least one of the principal curvatures is zero at every point, then the Gaussian curvature will be 0 and the surface is a developable surface. For a minimal surface, the mean curvature is zero at every ...
Alternatively, the sectional curvature can be characterized by the circumference of small circles. Let be a two-dimensional plane in .Let () for sufficiently small > denote the image under the exponential map at of the unit circle in , and let () denote the length of ().