04 Subjective stardates
Description
This article is from the Stardates in Star Trek FAQ, by Andrew Main zefram@dcs.warwick.ac.uk with numerous contributions by others.
04 Subjective stardates
A common theory, picking up on part of Roddenberry's explanation, is that
stardates are measured subjectively by each different starship. This means
that relativistic time distortions, caused by travelling at impulse speeds,
cause stardate rates to vary from an objective point of view.
Such a system would be useless across the Starfleet, because stardate X to the
Enterprise would be stardate Y to the Potemkin, and stardate Z to the
Sutherland. This situation is obviously not very helpful when arranging a
rendezvous.
To be useful, stardates must be universal, and the computers will have to
allow for time dilation. The computers available in the 20th century are
capable of compensating for this effect, so it is certainly possible in the
23rd century.
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