Nuclear mass formula by a new method

A nuclear mass formula is constructed which is composed of two parts, one describing 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 shell energies of spherical nuclei are calculated with use of a spherical single-particle potential. The shell energies of deformed nuclei consist of intrinsic shell energies and average deformation energies. The intrinsic shell energy of a deformed nucleus is calculated from the shell energies of appropriate spherical nuclei by treating the deformed nucleus as a superposition of spherical nuclei. The obtained mass formula is applicable to any nucleus with Z 2 and N 2. The root-mean-square deviation from experimentally known masses is 0.68 MeV.