Normal Vector

a euclidean vector perpendicular to a plane

notation n

procedure computing a normal vector

the normal vector of a plane is perpendicular to all its direction vectors. it can therefore be computed by setting the dot product of the normal vector to every direction vector to zero, and solving for the normal vector

in the case of euclidean vectors in RR^3, the cross product of two vectors in a plane will yield a normal vector to that plane