Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2016
We discuss the arguments in favour of the suggestion that polars (AM Her systems) and intermediate polars (IP’s) have magnetic fields of the same order of magnitude, and form one single class of objects. The period distribution of magnetic cataclysmic variables is well explained if they evolve the same way as non magnetic systems, IP’s becoming AM Her systems after crossing the gap. We discuss some consequences of the limited magnetic moment distribution (1033 ≤ μ ≤ 1034 G cm−3) in magnetic CV’s, in particular for the existence of accretion discs in those systems.