Paper 4, Section II, G
Part IB, 2012
Let be a smooth closed surface. Define the principal curvatures and at a point . Prove that the Gauss curvature at is the product of the two principal curvatures.
A point is called a parabolic point if at least one of the two principal curvatures vanishes. Suppose is a plane and is tangent to along a smooth closed curve . Show that is composed of parabolic points.
Can both principal curvatures vanish at a point of ? Briefly justify your answer.