Normal Section of an Ellipsoid of Revolution ORS
• The gray plane is tangent to the ellipsoid at A
• The normal NA at A is orthogonal to the tangent plane
• The red plane, containing NA is the normal plane at A
• The curve from A to B, the intersection of the surface of the ellipsoid of revolution and the normal plane, is called the normal section.
• The normals at A & B are generally not coplanar
• Construction of a normal plane at B that passes through A will generate a different normal section
• Normal planes may not contain the origin