In Star Trek TOS episode Balance of Terror, Mr. Spock says that Castrodinium is "the hardest substance known to our science." Could it be that it was named after Fidel Castro?
Answer
The actual quote is shown below. As you can see, it's not one word ('castrodinium'), it's actually two words ('cast rodinium'), referring to the fictional transuranic element rodinium.
The 'casting' process presumably refers to the method used to make the element into a usable shape.
SPOCK: From the outpost's protective shield. Cast rodinium.
This is the hardest substance known to our science.(He crushes it with his hand)
The Starfleet Medical Reference Manual offers the following information about the substance but no particular indication of why the name was chosen:
If I had to make a complete guess, I'd say that Roddenberry had decided to name an element after himself.
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