Probably mostly a consequence of how desirable these things would be. Both room temperature semiconductors and fusion would completely reshape society and re-d

Probably mostly a consequence of how desirable these things would be. Both room temperature semiconductors and fusion would completely reshape society and re-draw the geopolitical map to a degree we haven't seen since the industrial revolution. We'd find ourselves in an age where oil was nearly worthless. So there's a lot of money and glory at stake if you can demonstrate you're making headway toward any of these goals. There's a parallel to alchemy in all this. Before we knew it wasn't impossible to create gold through chemical processes, it seemed like a very appealing quest indeed. You have figures like Newton spending an inordinate amount of time and effort trying to figure it out.