What makes papal smoke black

The incomplete burning produces the particles of carbon needed for dark colored smoke," said Krampf. This has sometimes led to quite a bit of confusion, with people thinking that a new Pope had been selected if the dark smoke was not dark enough. To eliminate the confusion, they've now moved on to using chemical compounds to give the smoke the proper color. Another distinguishing factor, is that along with white smoke, the bells of St.

The smoke is black if no pope has been elected. The smoke is white if a pope has been elected. For example, the smoke was black today after the first round of votes, which means no consensus has been reached among the voting Cardinals yet.

First, the chimney is connected to two stoves inside the chapel. The conclave uses cartridges filled with different chemicals to produce either white or black smoke, according to the Times.

It is still not known what those chemicals are. The director of a smoke-machine supplier in England, Ben Baxter , gave the Times a few suggestions as to what the chemicals are:. The principal chemical was most likely potassium chlorate, which ignites easily — a 9-volt battery will do — and produces fine white particles as it burns.

The white smoke is a mixture of potassium chlorate, lactose and a pine resin, also known as Greek pitch. Here's how it works: When the cardinals' ballots are cast and counted, the ballots are burned in a two-stove system. The ballots and personal notes are burned in a cast-iron stove that is about 3-feet high and about 19 inches in diameter. When the ballots are burned in the older stove, it triggers an electronic, smoke-producing device outfitted on a second, more modern stove, which was first used in the conclave for the election of Benedict XVI.

The device releases a cartridge holding five "charges" or containers of one of the two chemical mixtures. The five charges are loaded one at a time into the device to produce enough black or white smoke to remain visible for about seven minutes. For black, it uses a mixture of potassium perchlorate, anthracene and sulphur; white comes from potassium chlorate, lactose and the conifer resin called rosin, which is often rubbed on violin bows to increase friction.

A smoke bomb — as well as fireworks designed to be particularly smoky — works by combining an easily burnt, carbon-rich compound such as sugar with a so-called oxidizing agent, which provides the oxygen for the combustion reaction. Potassium perchlorate and chlorate which differ only in precisely how much oxygen they contain are the most common oxidizers in these applications. Anthracene, lactose milk sugar and rosin are the sources of carbon.

Anthracene, found in coal tar, is particularly good for producing big black sooty particles, although it is no longer used in pyrotechnic displays because it is carcinogenic.