Shape selection of Kompeitoh

Abstract

We carried out experiments on the collective crystal growth of sucrose into a form of candy known as Kompeitoh. We examined the process for the selection of granule size and the number of spikes formed on the crystal surface. We found that the characteristic size of spikes was proportional to the size of granules in the steady-state regime, although the proportionality coefficient was dependent on conditions such as the initial shape of the crystals. A selection process of surface structure during the crystallization appears to have been caused by the distribution process of sucrose solution during the mixing of granules. In addition, a phenomenological model of surface growth based on the obtained experimental results is presented herein. ©2006 The Physical Society of Japan.