How do star trek officers?

Question

How do star trek officers tell the time? They don't seem to have watches, so how do they know when their shift is over etc?

Answer 1

The director shouts "CUT"

EDIT: One mystery solved, if the oversleep on TNG they get a wakeup call from Ryker (SOURCE: Episode 1, Series 3 Star Trek TNG where Ryker has to call Wes Crusher because he's late on watch BECAUSE HIS ALARM DIDN'T GO OFF)

Answer 2

I love Star Trek as much as the next person. actually I'm a nerd and watch it all the time. The can tell the time by the computer panel they are on. Since the ship keeps track of each officers movements, it knows when the person at that terminal's shift is over and will inform them. Unless of course the Ship is standing at an Alert status(Yellow,Red,etc..) in which case they don't have a shift cause the crew is at general Quarters.

Answer 3

Excellent question-
In "ST6- The Undiscovered Country", there's a meeting with Colonel West, Admiral Cartwright, and the Federation President with a Romulan ambassador present and the following exchange happens-

Federation President: Suppose you instigate a full scale war?
Colonel West: In that case, Mr. President, we can clean their chronometers.

Also, in ST2: The Wrath of Khan when Kirk and co. are in the planetoid supposedly stranded, he checks his wrist and talks about time and then checks again when he contacts the Enterprise.

Kirk: Spock, it's been 2 hours. Are you ready?

From this and some other references in the series, we know that for the most part they work in a standard 24 hour Earth standard day. Also, at the beginning of the episode "Data's Day", the computer announces the shift ending.

As much of a ST geek that I am, I'm not sure about how they measure stardates or what they reference except that they can sync the ship's clock with subspace beacons.

Hope this helps.

--Dennis

Answer 4

Obviously the ship's computer can't just tell everyone what the time is whenever- the computer would be speaking all the time and annoying everyone - so it would be down to using PADDs, computer stations etc. However one interesting thing to note is that in one episode of TNG (and maybe Voyager) the 'night shift' is activated on the bridge and the lighting is dimmed, I remember reading in a tech manual that the ship tries to replicate a day cycle by adjusting th lighting, having less people on duty etc.

Answer 5

Sub space communication allows instantaneous communications, regardless of the distance. There are federation time beacons spread out in quadrants alpha and beta of the galaxy.

In one episode (Cause and Effect) the Enterprise D is caught in a time loop. When they finally escape from the time loop (by avoiding a collision with the Bozeman), Picard asks Data to access a federation time beacon and reset the internal chronometers.

Answer 6

The computer on the ship informs them when necessesary and if not heard, they miss rollcall or their shift and are late and get hell. The computer voice is of course the nurse on the original Star Trek and her name is Mrs. Gene Roddenbery

Answer 7

Good question. I guess clocks weren't needed. maybe time was viewed diferently. maybe the speed they were on was really good and not harmful lol.

They could always ask the ships computer though they never do.

They all seem to have hand held devices when they left the ship sso there must be a clock of some sort there.

Answer 8

I think you've just discovered a fatal flaw in the whole idea.
I will not be able to suspend the disbelief any more.
Star Trek will never be the same again.
Tragedy :(

Answer 9

There are lots of things they never show, like bathrooms for example. You just have to assume such things exist since the producers do not find it necessary to include all those little details in the show.

Answer 10

They get off when the captain tells them there shift is over like at my job!!!!