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

Here's what to know about the black and white smoke used during a papal conclave. Start the day smarter. Get all the news you ...

Smoke signals have occurred at mid-morning, noon, mid-afternoon and evening. The longest conclave took three years.

For white smoke, a compound of the chemicals potassium chlorate, lactose, and rosin (also known as Greek pitch) is used, while potassium perchlorate, anthracene, and sulfur are used for the black ...

Black smoke has been rising from the Sistine Chapel, signaling that the cardinals have not yet elected a new pope on Thursday ...

Papal conclave ballots have been burned to maintain secrecy for centuries. Ballot smoke has been used to announce a decision since 1914.

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

At Conclave, what's the difference between white smoke and black smoke coming from the Sistine Chapel chimney? We have an ...

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In modern history, most conclave's have taken two to three days. Pope Francis (2013), Pope Benedict XVI (2005), Pope John Paul I (1978) and Pope Pius XII (1939) were all elected after two days of ...

A new pope was not elected on Wednesday, May 7. Black smoke was seen from the Sistine Chimney following the conclave's first vote by cardinals, which means that they did not reach the two-third ...