![]() ![]() He suspects that the cardinals use the simpler process of combustion. Vaporization is definitely an option, but it's complicated to master, Mocella says. ( Map: The Roman Catholic Diaspora)Īny idea about the Vatican's white smoke methodology? "These are fairly straightforward reactions for a pyrotechnic chemist," he adds. He points to certain zinc compounds and elemental phosphorus, which attract moisture when burned and can produce thick white smoke. ![]() "There are certain combustion products that are white or lighter gray based on their nature," says Mocella. In vaporization, "a solid substance is quickly melted and vaporized from the heat of a pyrotechnic reaction, but not to the point of being burned itself, and recondenses in the air to make a fog-what we would see as smoke." ( How Green Was the "Green Pope"?) "The smoke that you see when you burn wood or straw in the fireplace is from a combustion product the carbon-heavy material in the wood burns, but not completely." This releases carbon dioxide along with "ashy" compounds that appear gray or black. There are two ways to create smoke, Mocella explains: combustion, which produces smoke when materials are partially burned, and vaporization, which occurs when solid materials are heated to turn them first into a liquid and then into gas. How do you control the color of smoke when burning something? Isn't all smoke just sort of gray? We talked to Chris Mocella, coauthor of Chemistry of Pyrotechnics, to see if he could shed light on what is done to create that heavenly hue. Bergoglio will now be known as Pope Francis. White smoke has emerged from the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, signaling that the cardinals have elected Jorge Mario Bergoglio-a 76-year-old Argentine and archbishop of Buenos Aires-as the new pope. ![]()
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