  In the present work the formal definition of the scission point - the maximal
elongation at which the nucleus splits into two fragments - is given. The shape
and the deformation energy at the scission point are calculated within the
macroscopic-microscopic model.
  Three minima in the scission point deformation energy are found corresponding
to the "standard", "supershort" and "superlong" fission modes. The contribution
of each fission mode to the mass distribution of the fission fragments and
total kinetic energy is discussed and compared with the experimental results.
On the example of the fission process of U-235 by thermal neutrons it is shown
that the present approach reproduces correctly the position of the peaks of the
mass distribution of the fission fragments, the value and the fine details of
the total kinetic energy distribution and the magnitude of the total excitation
energy of the fission fragments.
