The 1995 update to the atomic mass evaluation

By assuming the existence of a pseudopotential smooth enough to do Hartree-Fock variations and good enough to describe nuclear structure, we construct mass formulae that rely on general scaling arguments and on a schematic reading of shell model calculations. Fits to 1751 known binding energies for N,Z\(\geq 8\) lead to rms errors of 375 keV with 28 parameters. Tests of the extrapolation properties are passed successfully. The Bethe-Weizs\"acker formula is shown to be the asymptotic limit of the present one(s). The surface energy of nuclear matter turns out to be probably smaller than currently accepted.