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��cker 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.

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