Science behind Vatican smoke signals

The black smoke announcing the papal conclusive vote is blacker and more camera-friendly than it was in ancient times, thanks to the chemist working ovens conclave.
We have added a number of new chemicals to the smoke signals this year, the Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told reporters today. Potassium perchlorate cartridges, anthracene (a component of coal tar) and sulfur was black smoke indicating that a new pope had been chosen.

The white smoke, which indicates that a new potato includes potassium chlorate, lactose and chloroform resin."Do not expect precision Swiss watch," said Lombardi, but the colors are distinctly clearer than they have been in recent years.
Journalists and observers of the Vatican complained in 2005 and 1978, the last two conclaves, the color of the smoke was hard to read.

The church burned historically wet straw to black smoke - the water remains burning straw completely, creating carbon particles obscuring smoke. But in 2005, after complaints that the wet straw actually produces gray smoke, the Vatican made ​​its "concession to modern chemistry" and changed to a two stove chemical mixture of black smoke before piping to the outside world .
No word on the chemicals in the pink smoke seen near the Vatican today, several feminist groups launched to protest the lack of female priests church