[Daisy]

1. A day is measured as a 24 hour period which is the amount of time it takes the earth to turn on it's axis. Is it correct then to assume that if the earth turned more slowly a day would be longer than 24 hours and if it turned faster, a day would be shorter?

2. Has the earth consistantly turned on its axis at the same speed or has the speed changed since the earth was formed?

[Oracle]

This rather....too "general" question...I don't exactly get your point "consistantly turned on it's axis"..
I suggest you read "The Clock we live on" it explains alot of things :-)
No matter how fast or slow it turns it will always be the same to us :-P maybe we'll just develop some of the cat skills and get used to darkness :-P
...evolution? :-P
Electric prototypes of the sun is our future 1 on each continent. You don't believe me? Right, we'll see! :-P

[Tormod]

The reason we have 24 hours has nothing to do with the speed of the rotation of the Earth. The separation of days into hours is a cultural thing, and was first done thousands of years ago.

The speed of rotation is as far as I know slowing down slightly.

Tormod

[Daisy]

I am trying to determine if the length of a day - the amount of time it takes to get from one sun rise to the next has remained constant. It is my understanding (and I may be wrong because I am far from an expert) that in order for the sun to rise and set and rise again, the earth has to move (turn on its axis) because the sun does not move. If the earth changes the rate at which it turns on its axis would that not change the length of a day. Because it would change the time between sun rises. If this is "too general" for you I am sorry. I don't know how else to ask it.

[AstroRuss]

The sun's gravity is pulling earth towards it (well.. otherwise we'de just fling out into space), though slowly slowly we are being pulled closer towards the sun.. I dont remember measurements though its in the anual nano-scale.. though the closer we get towards the sun the faster we spin on our axis and the shorter the time between sunrise and sunset is.. though then again, maybe the faster we spin the slower time is and it takes just as long? either way, not much of a difference that would be able to be felt for in a lifetime.. other than the usual concept of time that I believe changed as we get older.. remember being a kid playing with a new toys? damn.. one day then felt like weeks for me now... well, I dont believe my soul is to waist so mabe that time is yet to come again. maybe souls arent limited to traveling the fourth dimention in a single direction.. maybe my soul we re-physicalise in the past when the days were long, the air was fresh and.. hmm.. maybe its already happened. maybe my soul is yet to depart this shell of mine, travel an odd 20 something years in the opposite direction of our arrow of time and be reborn into a body thats reading this post.. maybe you are me in my futures past.? maybe your previous you is lacking sleep?
good night.
_Russ.

[syndicated]

if you want to be specific... the earth doesn't take 24 hours to complete one rotation, it actually takes 23h 56m. which is why there is a leap year every 4 years. 4 minutes*365 days equals roughly 24 hours.

the next question that arises is how do we know that we're in the right year? the leap year has only existed for a few hundred years, yet days have been divided into 24h since roman times....

[Tormod]

Here's a page with a lot of calendar information and links:

Cultural Calendar Links

Here is one from Eric Wisstein's World of Astronomy:

Calendars

Tormod