Anyone into chemistry here, or could you ask your teacher? (university preferable, thanks)
Are the electron configurations in the f-block still under debate, or are these accepted by the scientific community in general?
I'm most interested on the three initial elements of the 5 and 6 periods. Those where the 4f and 5f subshells are said to be 0.
Lanthanum ([Xe] 4f0 5d1 6s2
Actinium ([Rn] 5f0 6d1 7s2)
Thorium ([Rn] 5f0 6d2 7s2)
What troubles me is the thought of an empty subshell and how this is seemingly violating all we know about the electron configuration theory in quantum chemistry. The other few exceptions to Aufbau or Madelung rules in the periodic table do not go as far as emptying a subshell. Or am I reading this wrong and empty subshells are an accepted possibility?