A nuclear mass formula is constructed which is composed of two parts, one d
escribing the general trend of the masses as a function of Z and N and the
other representing deviations of individual masses from this general trend.
These deviations are referred to as shell energies in a broad sense. The s
hell energies of spherical nuclei are calculated with use of a spherical si
ngle-particle potential. The shell energies of deformed nuclei consist of i
ntrinsic shell energies and average deformation energies. The intrinsic she
ll energy of a deformed nucleus is calculated from the shell energies of ap
propriate spherical nuclei by treating the deformed nucleus as a superposit
ion of spherical nuclei. The obtained mass formula is applicable to any nuc
leus with Z greater than or equal to 2 and N greater than or equal to 2. Th
e root-mean-square deviation from experimentally known masses is 0.68 MeV.
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