Measuring Risk: Small-Scale Technologies and the Making of the Global Oil Economy, 1859-1910

Area of Science:

• History of Science and Technology
• Energy Systems
• Transimperial Studies

Background:

• Kerosene revolutionized 19th-century lighting but posed explosion risks.
• Histories of energy often focus on large infrastructures and imperial rivalries.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the role of small-scale instruments, specifically flashpoint testers, in shaping energy systems.
• To analyze the transimperial collaboration between the United States and Britain regarding kerosene safety.
• To understand how risk measurement influenced the expansion of the petroleum economy.

Main Methods:

• Historical analysis of flashpoint testers and their development.
• Comparative study of risk cultures in the United States and Britain.
• Examination of transimperial collaboration and its impact on global markets.

Main Results:

• Flashpoint testers enabled the measurement, negotiation, and governance of everyday risks associated with kerosene.
• Divergent risk cultures emerged: a vernacular (US) and an administrative (Britain).
• Britain's administrative approach proved more reliable, leading to its role in governing global kerosene risk.

Conclusions:

• Small-scale instruments like flashpoint testers were crucial in enabling the rapid expansion of the petroleum economy.
• Transimperial collaboration, driven by standardized risk management, reshaped energy systems.
• The study reframes historical understanding of energy system development by focusing on instruments and risk governance.