[Remole]

Regarding the noon and 7 pm (local Rome time) signals: The cardinals agreed that the public should EXPECT smoke at those times AT A MINIMUM. Those are the times when the second of two ballots are done (2 ballots in morning, 2 in afternoon). But it is entirely possible that the first balloting of the morning or afternoon will result in an election, and so in that case white smoke will billow at, roughly, 10 am or 5 pm local time. So, to sum up:

10 am: white smoke only if election; noon: white smoke or black smoke, but there'll be some kind of smoke; 5 pm: white smoke if election; 7 pm: white smoke or black smoke.

[JohnnyZ]

10 am: white smoke only if election; noon: white smoke or black smoke, but there'll be some kind of smoke; 5 pm: white smoke if election; 7 pm: white smoke or black smoke.

Wouldn't there still be black smoke for every vote that doesn't result in a new Pope? They gotta burn the ballots each time.