Ice is a partially transparent Block that forms over Water in colder Biomes and is somewhat slippery. It can commonly be used as an indicator of a Tundra , Taiga and Ice Spikes Biome. The player can break Ice even without a Tool , but will do so fastest with a Pickaxe .
Some text from Minecraft Wiki used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0
First Appearance | Alpha- |
Type of Block | Solid Block |
Stackable? | Yes |
Tool Used | Pickaxe |
Data Values | Hex: 4F Dec: 79 |
Blast Resistance | 2.5 |
Obeys Physics? | No |
Luminosity | No |
Transparency | Yes |
Ice acts very similar to Snow in the sense that it melts when it comes into contact with Fire , is near a Torch , or is touched by Lava for a short period of time. Ice is not affected by Fire, but when melted with Lava, it will produce Water. This will also happen if Ice is destroyed and there is a Block beneath it.
Ice does not commonly have a use, and was most likely implemented in Minecraft for show and visual effect. Ice cannot naturally be gathered; however, if a Pickaxe has the Silk Touch Enchantment , Ice can successfully be gathered without destroying it.
Ice can be used to make traps, but is not efficient in this as water makes a better substitute in moving mobs. Melted Ice will disappear in the Nether .
In Mob traps, Ice is great for making faster Mob delivery systems. Water traveling over Ice propels items and Mobs faster, decreasing the amount of time the Player must wait.
See here