Why do wire-array Z-pinches give such a sharp and efficient X-ray pulse?

The Z-pinch is intrinsically unstable to MHD modes, yet the wire array Z-pinch yields sharp and reliable Z-pinch pulses. The physics of the various phases of wire array implosions, i.e. the early heating, melting and vaporization, plasma formation, uncorrelated m=0 instabilities on the wires, inward jetting to form a precursor column and next what appears to be a snowplough-like implosion are studied experimentally, computationally, and theoretically. The X-ray pulse occurs mainly at the stagnation on axis when up to 100keV kinetic energy of the ions is thermalised.