I see a lot of questions on electron configurations from students at various levels here. Students mechanically remember how to fill orbitals and sorry to say many teachers do the same. Not a single general chemistry or even undergraduate physical chemistry book discusses the "why" part of orbital filling and what is the experimental evidence behind the electron configurations? Yes, hand-waving discussion is always present. It all comes from spectroscopy and so on.
A long time ago I asked a question here, on the physics forum and ResearchGate as how one would come up with an electron configuration from the raw spectrum of a non-hydrogen element. Experimental Assignment of Electronic Transitions in Atoms (Grotrian Diagram) However, even trained atomic spectroscopists did not have an answer. Is it an art which has been lost and all we have now are tables?
The question is that what is the point in arguing and teaching that electronic configuration of copper is [Ar] 3d10 4s1 or [Ar] 3d9 4s2? What difference does it make in the world when the teacher and the student have no clue of experimentally verifying it except both are memorizing the rules and exceptions like a parrot? Suppose a very good undergraduate asks this question that how do we experimentally know that configuration of copper is [Ar] 3d10 4s1 or [Ar] 3d9 4s2 vice versa? Most of us may not have an answer.
I would be very happy to know a resource that talks about the experimental evidence and determination of electron configurations of heavier metals. So far my efforts have not been very fruitful.
A similar question has been asked here Evidence of orbitals but it does not fully address my old query.