Towards the convergence of molecular-mechanical force fields

It is noticed that inclusion of an electrostatic term in the molecular-mechanical treatment of hydrocarbons would compel the nonbonding parameters of different force fields to become more alike than they are at present. Apart from removing the discontinuity in passing from the calculation of an unfunctionalized parent compound to the calculation of its functionalized derivatives, it is expected that the inclusion would improve results for the hydrocarbons themselves.