Rather than soot, the smoke contains microscopic droplets and fine solids that are transparent or white. The result is a ...

Here's how the conclave creates black and white smoke and why the Catholic Church began using them to signal whether a new ...

For white smoke, a compound of the chemicals potassium chlorate, lactose, and rosin (also known as Greek pitch) is used, ...

At the end of each voting round, black smoke means a new pope has not yet to be selected, while white smoke indicates a new ...

Roman Catholic cardinals will start electing a new pope on Wednesday, sequestering themselves in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel after a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. The conclave – a tradition dating ...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — A change in popes — through death or resignation — is a complicated process, with centuries-old rituals ...

For much of the past century, the conclave has needed between three and 14 ballots to find a pope. John Paul I—the pope who ...

The use of chemicals to ensure either black or white smoke was introduced after the 1958 conclave when damp straw added to papers from an unsuccessful ballot did not ignite at first. White smoke ...

The papal conclave smoke signal has evolved from an incidental byproduct of burning ballots into a carefully engineered communication tool ...

No cameras will be allowed inside the church during the vote, so the result will remain secret until white smoke emerges from the chimney that has been affixed atop the Sistine Chapel. Is there a ...

Black smoke pouring from the Sistine Chapel chimney on Wednesday signalled that Roman Catholic cardinals had not selected a new pope on the conclave's first ballot. The cardinals earlier began the ...

If Thursday afternoon's rounds of voting fail to produce a two-thirds majority, black smoke will billow from the chimney at the Vatican again, at around 7 pm. It will be white if a new pope is elected ...