Trek Tech FAQ

[Mytran]

Consults with Asimov:
http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/06/getting-star-trek-on-air-was-impossible.html

GRs interactions with Asimov are well documented, and the examples here are mostly to do with character and storytelling instead of science.

.. pay attention to #7:
http://hotnerdgirl.com/tag/16-facts-you-never-knew-about-gene-roddenberry/

Whoever wrote #7 on that list is seriously confused between light years and calendar years and probably doesn't understand general relativity either. Bad science.

Scientific American:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-science-sticklers-who-kept-star-trek-in-line/

The DeForrest institute's involvement with TOS is also well documented, but there are some fun examples here of what they picked up (and what was ignored).

[ "This time system adjusts for shifts in relative time which occur due to the vessel's speed and space warp capability. It has little relationship to Earth's time as we know it. One hour aboard the U.S.S.Enterprise at different times may equal as little as three Earth hours. The stardates specified in the log entry must be computed against the speed of the vessel, the space warp, and its position within our galaxy, in order to give a meaningful reading."] - Roddenberry

Stardates are not 'Dates, per se rather a relative position in the galaxy at the time of Log.

That quote is Roddenberry's attempt to explain away SDs incobinconscies with a "fudge". He admitted elsewhere he doesn't even know what it means. It's certainly not a magic formula used by the writers

 

[King Firebeard]

The point is, that Roddenberry wanted accuracy and his quote speaks of Stardates referring to physical locations and not actual calendar dates. He didn't just spout some random words, he attempted to reconcile the differences of opinion in what a Stardate is. A "Roddenberry" is an accepted term, unofficially by scientists, to describe the distance and 'dialation' effects experienced by a traveler approaching "C." If Light traveled at a fixed rate for all observers, then the Enterprise would be several million years old when it returned to Earth - that's absurd. Remember, Roddenberry subscribed to Classical Physics. He also wrote his tests and was given his degree.

 

[Unicron]

With regards to stardates, that would perhaps be best sorted in a separate thread, and perhaps in General Trek Discussion.