What does the black and white smoke mean during a conclave? File photo: White smoke rises from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City on March 13, 2013.

Black and white smoke is used to represent the cardinals' decisions each day, as they are sequestered and cannot share this news directly. If one candidate doesn't receive the necessary two-thirds ...

What black and white smoke means After the cardinals' votes are counted, the paper ballots are burned in a stove in the Sistine Chapel. Black smoke emerging from the chimney means the world's 1.4 ...

White Smoke, Pope; Black Smoke, Nope: How Conclave Smoke Gets Its Color. A chemical mixture is added to the cardinals' ballots to signal conclave vote. By ABC News. March 13, 2013, 12:26 PM.

And once the election process for a new pope begins, gatherers will turn upward each day, waiting for black or white smoke to fill the sky. Francis died on Easter Monday , April 21. He was 88 ...

Black smoke indicates that votes have been cast, but no candidate has received the two-thirds majority required to be elected pope. White smoke means that a new pope has been selected.

White or black smoke could be expected around 7-8 p.m. local time (1-2 p.m. ET). If a final decision isn't made the first day, people can expect the next smoke signal to be shared mid-morning the ...

It wasn't clear whether grey smoke was closer to black or white, for example. By the 1970s, the straw method had been abandoned in favor of more controllable chemical mixtures.

If a pope is not elected, black smoke emerges from the chimney; if one is chosen, white smoke is released. Black smoke billows out of the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on May 7, 2025.

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 ...