I don't think they think about it at all. My university had a strong nuclear research program and I took some classes from the professors in the field. It's cle

I don't think they think about it at all. My university had a strong nuclear research program and I took some classes from the professors in the field. It's clearly really hard, to the point that even PhD level intellects can only do it when they're hyperfocused on the nuts and bolts of the physics. I think even beyond that, maybe for national security reasons, people in the nuclear industry don't get outside their bubble much. I'm sure if any of them took a weekend of genuinely trying to understand why it wasn't cost-competitive they'd understand it better than me, but then they'd fall behind in their 'real' research. So they lobby for more state support without ever questioning why they need it.