What is it about?
The Madelung appears in all chemistry and physics textbooks as a means to obtain the electronic configuration of any atom, at least in principle. Several attempts have been made to deduce this empirical rule from first principles. The article seeks to examine these attempts and also considers the dual sense of the term 'element'.
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Why is it important?
It's important because of the generally held claim that chemistry in general and the periodic table in particular reduces to quantum mechanics. If this is really the case, it should be possible to deduce the Madelung rule from first principles. Nobody has yet done so to the best of my knowledge.
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This page is a summary of: The dual sense of the term “element,” attempts to derive the Madelung rule, and the optimal form of the periodic table, if any, International Journal of Quantum Chemistry, January 2009, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1002/qua.21914.
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