Macroscopic-Microscopic Mass Models

We discuss recent developments in macroscopic-microscopic mass models, including the 1992 finite-range droplet model, the 1992 extended-Thomas-Fermi Strutinsky-integral model, and the 1994 Thomas-Fermi model, with particular emphasis on how well they extrapolate to new regions of nuclei. We also address what recent developments in macroscopic-microscopic mass models are teaching us about such physically relevant issues as the nuclear curvature energy, a new congruence energy arising from a greater-than-average overlap of neutron and proton wave functions, the nuclear incompressibility coefficient, and the Coulomb redistribution energy arising from a central density depression. We conclude with a brief discussion of the recently discovered rock of metastable superheavy nuclei near 272:110 that had been correctly predicted by macroscopic-microscopic models, along with a possible new tack for reaching an island near 290:110 beyond our present horizon.