Z pinches have long been interesting to plasma physicists because of the simplicity of their geometry. They were studied first in the 1950s as potential fusion configurations and, later, as intense X-ray sources both for military and civilian applications. The development of pulsed power technologies, some reaching energy and power levels of 3 MJ and 50 TW, respectively, by many organizations around the world has accelerated the interest in z pinches for fusion applications.