Merwin Sibulkin (1926–2006) was an American scientist active in the field of

aerodynamics Aerodynamics, from grc, ἀήρ ''aero'' (air) + grc, δυναμική (dynamics), is the study of the motion of air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dyn ...

, fluid mechanics, heat transfer and

combustion Combustion, or burning, is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel (the reductant) and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke. Combust ...

Early life and education

A World War II Navy veteran, he earned his PhD at

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

in 1956.

Career

Sibulkin worked at General Dynamics in San Diego, California until 1963,"The bathtub vortex reverses at the end". and then became professor at the Division of Engineering at Brown University. Sibulkin was particularly known for his work on investigating drag around air intakes on jet-propelled aircraft. Sibulkin was also once involved in an experiment trying to investigate if the coriolis force due to the rotation of the Earth could be seen in the form of spiraling water around the outlet when draining a bath tub. He was, however, unsuccessful.

Selected publications

*''Transition from Turbulent to Laminar Pipe Flow'', Defense Technical Information Center, 1961 *''A note on the bathtub vortex'', General Dynamics/Astronautics, San Diego, California *''Unsteady, viscous, circular flow Part 3. Application to the Ranque-Hilsch vortex tube'', Convair Scientific Research Laboratory, San Diego *"Boundary-Layer Measurements at Supersonic Nozzle Throats", Journal of the Aeronautical Sciences, Vol. 24, No. 4 (1957), pp. 249–252.

Personal

Sibulkil was married to Lucinda, née Weiss.

References

External links

Google Scholar citations
*http://www.engin.brown.edu/img/Enginuity.pdf *http://archive.planet-science.com/text_only/outthere/plughole/background.html *http://sploib.com/gottlieb/258.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Sibulkin, Merwin 1926 births 2006 deaths American aerospace engineers United States Navy personnel of World War II California Institute of Technology alumni Brown University faculty 20th-century American engineers