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

The result is a mixture of steam and white or light gray smoke that contrasts sharply with the dark, carbon-rich black smoke. Over the years, the papal conclave smoke signal has evolved from an ...

All eyes will be on a small chimney on the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel today as the Catholic Church’s most senior leaders meet ...

The result is a mixture of steam and white or light gray smoke that contrasts sharply with the dark, carbon-rich black smoke. Over the years, the papal conclave smoke signal has evolved from an ...

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

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

As the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Francis begins, cardinals will be voting multiple times per day until a ...

The same goes for the afternoon voting – if there is a two-thirds consensus after the first round of balloting in the ...

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 ...

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 ...

Black smoke billows for a second tim ‘We want to sell our farm but our tenant – who hasn’t paid rent in years – claims he’s ...

The 2025 papal conclave is underway. Who will be the new pope when the white smoke settles? Who is the odds-on favorite? Are ...