Sir George Gabriel Stokes, 1st Baronet,  (; 13 August 1819 - 1 February 1903), was an Irish physicist and mathematician. Born in Ireland, Stokes spent all of his career at the University of Cambridge, where he served as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics from 1849 until his death in 1903. In physics, Stokes made seminal contributions to fluid dynamics (including the Navier-Stokes equations) and to physical optics. In mathematics he formulated the first version of what is now known as Stokes's theorem and contributed to the theory of asymptotic expansions.
Creeping flow
His work on fluid motion and viscosity led to his calculating the terminal velocity for a sphere falling in a viscous medium. This became known as Stokes's law. He derived an expression for the frictional force (also called drag force) exerted on spherical objects with very small Reynolds numbers.  His work is the basis of the falling sphere viscometer, in which the fluid is stationary in a vertical glass tube. A sphere of known size and density is allowed to descend through the liquid. If correctly selected, it reaches terminal velocity, which can be measured by the time it takes to pass two marks on the tube. Electronic sensing can be used for opaque fluids. Knowing the terminal velocity, the size and density of the sphere, and the density of the liquid, Stokes's law can be used to calculate the viscosity of the fluid. A series of steel ball bearings of different diameter is normally used in the classic experiment to improve the accuracy of the calculation. The school experiment uses glycerine as the fluid, and the technique is used industrially to check the viscosity of fluids used in processes.  The same theory explains why small water droplets (or ice crystals) can remain suspended in air (as clouds) until they grow to a critical size and start falling as rain (or snow and hail). Similar use of the equation can be made in the settlement of fine particles in water or other fluids.  The CGS unit of kinematic viscosity was named "stokes" in recognition of his work.

Q: What is creeping flow?
A: His work is the basis of the falling sphere viscometer, in which the fluid is stationary in a vertical glass tube.
Was this one of his biggest accomplishments?
The CGS unit of kinematic viscosity was named "stokes" in recognition of his work.
The CGS unit of kinematic viscosity was named "stokes" in recognition of his work.