curvature, in mathematics, the rate of change of direction of a curve with respect to distance along the curve. At every point on a circle, the curvature is the reciprocal of the radius; for other curves (and straight lines, which can be regarded as circles of infinite radius), the curvature is the reciprocal of the radius of the circle that most closely conforms to the curve at the given point (see figure).

If the curve is a section of a surface (that is, the curve formed by the intersection of a plane with the surface), then the curvature of the surface at any given point can be determined by suitable sectioning planes. The most useful planes are two that both contain the normal (the line perpendicular to the tangent plane) to the surface at the point (see figure). One of these planes produces the section with the greatest curvature among all such sections; the other produces that with the least. These two planes define the two so-called principal directions on the surface at the point; these directions lie at right angles to one another. The curvatures in the principal directions are called the principal curvatures of the surface. The mean curvature of the surface at the point is either the sum of the principal curvatures or half that sum (usage varies among authorities). The total (or Gaussian) curvature (see differential geometry: Curvature of surfaces) is the product of the principal curvatures.