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

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Experts say the process requires "two custom fireworks", smoke test rehearsals and Vatican firefighters on standby.

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 favour of more controllable chemical mixtures .

White smoke appeared to billow from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel this afternoon - despite cardinals failing to reach a verdict on the next pontiff. Footage from the Vatican live feed of the ...

White smoke billowed over the Vatican on the first full day of voting, but this was not quite the fastest conclave in history.

clearly visible from St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City. It will release a plume of white smoke if a pope has been chosen, and black smoke if no candidate has won the required two-thirds ...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — White smoke is pouring out of the Sistine Chapel chimney, signalling that a pope has been elected to lead the Catholic Church. That means the winner secured at least 89 votes of ...

On the afternoon of Thursday, May 8, white smoke from the Sistine Chapel's chimney billowed into the sky, prompting waves of cheers in St. Peter's Square and signaling to the world that the 267th pope ...

For black smoke, the Vatican uses a mixture of potassium perchlorate, anthracene, and sulphur. The white smoke used to signal ...