How to melt large amounts of ice fast?

Answer 1

HEAT!!!

Answer 2

Crush it into very small particles so it's got a very large ratio of surface area to mass. Then apply lots of heat in a very short amount of time. Try an industrial crusher and furnace set-up. Or if expense and danger aren't a problem, zap it with an intense x-ray or gamma ray source (from something like, say, a nearby supernova) to instantly ionize all the atoms in the ice.

Answer 3

Heat. And lots of it.
Or applying heat evenly to the largest surface area possible.
ie: drill a hole in it and fill it with warm water.
this will work well for two reasons. it increases the surface area of the ice, thereby allowing it to release heat more quickly.
as the water melts through the ice, it creates a "pool" at the bottom of the ice layer, reducing the frictional forces holding the ice to the ground (or whatever is attached to)...

this is what happened in antarctica, causing a hugh ice shelf to completely fall off in 31 days.
anyhoo...

heat is the short answer

Answer 4

There are 2 break points to consider. Fresh water freezes at about 32 deg.F.
Salt water freezes at about 26deg. F.
To melt these u must transfer the calories to accomplish the temperature change . So it requires much more calories to melt salt water. This is when it gets cold ,below 26 deg there is not much improvement in the use of salt on the roads.

Answer 5

Use bags of salt, like epsom salt, for driveways and sidewalks to melt the ice and snow fast.

Answer 6

Flamethrower

Answer 7

Try to cut it into pieces.

I guess you will be able to handle water (that will the ice become anyway), so let water flow over it. Of course preferably warm water, but if that is difficult any water temperature will do.

Answer 8

Thermite.

Just stand back because it's so hot it will break down the molecular bonds between the water atoms, creating rocket fuel (oxygen and hydrogen). Boom.

Answer 9

Blowtorch.

Answer 10

scalding water

Answer 11

flamethrower