SEDE VACANTE
HOW THE WHITE AND BLACK “FUMATE” ARE PRODUCED
THE WHITE SMOKE
Vatican City, 12 March
2013 (VIS)
– Beginning with the Conclave in 2005, in order to better distinguish the
colour of the “fumate” (smoke signalling the election or non-election of a
pontiff), a secondary apparatus is used to generate the smoke in addition to
the traditional stove in which the Cardinal electors' ballots are burned. This
device stands next to the ballot-burning stove and has a compartment where,
according to the results of the vote, different coloured-smoke generating
compounds can be mixed. The result is requested by means of an electronic
control panel and lasts for several minutes while the ballots are burning in
the other stove.
For
a black “fumata” the chemical compound is made of potassium perchlorate,
anthracene, and sulphur. The white “fumata” is a mixture of potassium chlorate,
lactose, and rosin. The rosin is a natural amber resin obtained from conifers.
Prior to 2005 the black smoke was obtained by using smoke black or pitch and the
white smoke by using wet straw.
The
stove-pipes of the stove and the smoke-producing device join up and exit the
roof of the Sistine Chapel as one pipe leading to the chimney installed on the
ridge of the roof, which is visible from St. Peter's Square. To improve the
airflow the pipe is pre-heated by electrical resistance and it also has a
backup fan.
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