# (Z) Pinch Me (DD-741)

> In a Z-pinch, current flowing along the axis of a plasma or a metal target creates a circular (azimuthal) magnetic field, and the resulting Lorentz force drives the material inward. Sandia's Z machine stores up to 22 MJ and discharges it as a pulse of about 100 nanoseconds, with currents of about 26 million amps (up to about 30 MA). That gives magnetic pressures of about 100 Mbar at a 1 mm radius. On Z, the targets are usually wire arrays or metal liners that vaporize into plasma. The Reel's footage is credited to Zap Energy, a company developing a different, sheared-flow Z-pinch approach to fusion.

- Department: Science (also Tech)
- First published: 2026-09-17
- Last updated: 2026-09-17
- Permalink: https://detailenjoyer.com/case/z-pinch-me/
- Author: Marcus Easterling (DetailEnjoyer), The Detail Department

## Quick facts

- **DD-741-F01**: Sandia's Z machine runs at about 26 million amps per shot. _(Write-up · Exhibit B (The Z machine))_
- **DD-741-F02**: Magnetic pressure on Z reaches about 100 Mbar at a 1 mm radius. _(Write-up · Exhibit D (Magnetic pressure))_

## Write-up

A plasma squeezed by its own current. Sandia's Z machine drives about 26 million amps through its targets.

1. **The pinch**: Current flowing along an axis, conventionally called z, creates a magnetic field that circles it. The force between that current and that field pushes the conductor inward. This is why it's called a 'Z-pinch'.
2. **The Z machine**: Sandia's Z is the world's largest pulsed-power accelerator. It stores up to 22 MJ and discharges it in a pulse of about 100 nanoseconds, with peak power around 80 TW and current up to about 30 MA.
3. **Typical shots**: In about 200 shots a year, Z uses currents of about 26 million amps and produces X-ray output of about 2.7 MJ at peaks of about 350 TW.
4. **Magnetic pressure**: At 26 MA and a radius of 1 mm, the magnetic pressure is about 100 Mbar, roughly 100 million atmospheres. That is enough to implode a target to far higher pressures.
5. **What gets pinched**: On Z, the load is usually a cylindrical array of fine wires or a metal liner, which vaporizes into plasma and implodes. Z is used for radiation science, material properties and fusion research.

## Related case files

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## Reel vs. record

- **Precision**: Z runs at about 26 MA, peaking near 30 MA, in pulses of about 100 nanoseconds. 'Tens of millions' is right but vague.
- **Missing context**: on Z, the current usually flows through wire arrays or metal liners that vaporize into plasma, not through a pre-existing plasma column.
- **Scale**: the magnetic pressure is about 100 Mbar (about 100 million atmospheres) at 26 MA and 1 mm.
- **Footage**: the credited source is Zap Energy, a fusion company with its own sheared-flow Z-pinch design, which is different from Sandia's Z machine.
- **Missing context**: Z is also the world's most powerful X-ray source (about 2.7 MJ per shot) and is used for weapons-effects testing and material science, not only fusion.

## Video: (Z) Pinch Me: A Plasma Squeezed by Its Own Current

- Duration: 29.6 s · Published: 2026-09-17
- File: https://detailenjoyer.com/assets/videos/DdZaQHMRVju.mp4

### Transcript

DID YOU KNOW? A plasma Z-pinch compresses plasma using the magnetic field created by an enormous electrical current flowing directly through it. When the current travels along the plasma's axis, it generates a circular magnetic field around the plasma, producing an inward force that squeezes the plasma into a narrow column. In experiments such as the Z Machine at Sandia National Laboratories, electrical pulses can reach tens of millions of amperes, generating magnetic pressures powerful enough to compress plasma to extreme temperatures and densities. NOW YOU KNOW!

## Questions & answers

**Q: What current does Sandia's Z typically use?**  
A: Z shots run at about 26 MA. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit C (Typical shots) · Sandia National Laboratories: About Z)_

**Q: How long is a Z pulse?**  
A: Energy is discharged in about a 100 ns pulse. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit B (The Z machine) · Sinars et al. (2020), Review of pulsed power-driven high energy density physics research on Z at Sandia, Physics of Plasmas)_

**Q: Why is it called a Z-pinch?**  
A: Current along the axis, conventionally z, creates the pinching field. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit A (The pinch) · Wikipedia: Z-pinch)_

**Q: What is a typical Z target?**  
A: The wires or liner vaporize into plasma and implode. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit E (What gets pinched) · Sinars et al. (2020), Review of pulsed power-driven high energy density physics research on Z at Sandia, Physics of Plasmas)_

**Q: Magnetic pressure at 26 MA and 1 mm is about...**  
A: About 100 Mbar. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit D (Magnetic pressure) · Sandia (OSTI): Pulsed power Z-pinch program at Sandia)_

## Sources

- [Sandia National Laboratories: About Z](https://www.sandia.gov/z-machine/about-z/)
- [Sinars et al. (2020), Review of pulsed power-driven high energy density physics research on Z at Sandia, Physics of Plasmas](http://www.qitech.biz/papers_refereed/phys_plasmas_zreview_20.pdf)
- [Sandia (OSTI): Pulsed power Z-pinch program at Sandia](https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/2002391)
- [Wikipedia: Z-pinch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z-pinch)

## Cite this case file

Easterling, Marcus. "(Z) Pinch Me." The Detail Department (DetailEnjoyer), case file DD-741, last updated Sep 17, 2026. https://detailenjoyer.com/case/z-pinch-me/