Abstract
The magnetic cataclysmic variables (mCVs) are a small but astrophysically important class of X-ray source. This paper discusses some of the work carried out by the author and his collaborators on these objects, which were discovered as part of various optical identification programs of both X-ray and extreme ultraviolet sources observed by the HEAO-1 and ROSAT satellites. Definitions are given of the two classes of mCVs; the Polars and the Intermediate Polars. The reasons why mCVs are significant sources of X-ray and EUV radiation are also discussed. Individual systems which have been the subject of intensive follow-up programmes at SAAO are then described, and the implications arising from these observations are discussed.
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