History: -Normal

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__Normal__ - In geometry, an object such as a line or vector is called a normal to another object if they are perpendicular to each other. For example, in the two-dimensional case, the normal line to a curve at a given point is the line perpendicular to the tangent line to the curve at the point.

In the three-dimensional case a surface normal, or simply normal, to a surface at a point P is a vector that is perpendicular to the tangent plane to that surface at P. The word "normal" is also used as an adjective: a line normal to a plane, the normal component of a force, the normal vector, etc. The concept of normality generalizes to orthogonality.

{WIKIPEDIA(Surface_normal)/} (Sub-term "Surface Normal")