  We present first results of astrophysically relevant experiments where highly
supersonic plasma jets are generated via conically convergent flows. The
convergent flows are created by electrodynamic acceleration of plasma in a
conical array of fine metallic wires (a modification of the wire array
Z-pinch). Stagnation of plasma flow on the axis of symmetry forms a standing
conical shock effectively collimating the flow in the axial direction. This
scenario is essentially similar to that discussed by Canto\' ~and collaborators
as a purely hydrodynamic mechanism for jet formation in astrophysical systems.
Experiments using different materials (Al, Fe and W) show that a highly
supersonic ($M\sim 20$), well-collimated jet is generated when the radiative
cooling rate of the plasma is significant. We discuss scaling issues for the
experiments and their potential use for numerical code verification. The
experiments also may allow direct exploration of astrophysically relevant
issues such as collimation, stability and jet-cloud interactions.
