Re: What type of electrical setup will I need to get electricity through ice?

You will need to figure out what exactly about the electricity would cause
the ice to melt at a faster rate.  It should be some kind of energy
transfer to the ice.  The best way to answer your question is to try
different techniques and measure the time it takes for the ice cube to melt
from a certain size to another smaller size for each method.  Of course you
will need the control (the time it takes an ice cube to melt without any
electricity applied).
 
What you are trying to design is an electrode -- points of contact with the
negative and positive ends of a battery or other electrical source.
All of the different electrode designs you try need to
account for the fact that the ice cube will get smaller.  Thus the
electrodes will need to move with the melting ice.  I would suggest using a
clamp of some sort to keep the electrodes fastened to the ice.

I would try different electrode designs that apply different concentrations
of electric field to the ice.  For example, a wire mesh electrode design
would be where each electrode is a wire mesh of copper wire. Another
electrode design could just be a nail for each electrode, set up so that as
the ice melts the nail stays in contact with the ice.  But, probably the
best electrode design is one where there is a grid of nails (or other sharp
metallic objects) for each electrode, again set up so that they stay in
contact as the nail melts.

Whatever electrode design you choose (I stil recommend using several to
compare) don't forget to time the melting of the ice cube using the
electrode WITHOUT the electricity on.  This will confirm whether or not the
electricity actually has an effect on the melting time.  It is possible
that the electrode itself enhances the transfer of heat to the ice from the
ambient air so that the electrode may melt the ice faster without even
turning on the electricity.

As you can see, there are several factors involved, many of which you can
control.  It would be neat to see the effect of these factors:  electrode
design, ambient air temperature, ambient air humidity, voltage applied,
whether the electrodes are oriented left/right or top/bottom.

Enjoy,

Daniel





Words for reference:  electrode, electric field, electric flux, electric
field density, electrode design.