Perplexed by"is opposite that for the rest of the hemisphere "

[liangyln]

I am really perplexed by the italic part of the following sentence:

Regions where the direction of magnetic flux is opposite that for the rest of the hemisphere arise when twisted magnetic fields occasionally burst above the earth’s core


Does it mean: Regions arise when twisted magnetic fields occasionally burst above the earth’s core. The direction of magnetic flux is opposite in these regions. The direction of magnetic flux is opposite that for the rest of the hemisphere. ?

I have searched the word "opposite" but there is no usage of: be opposite sth.

By the way, this sentence is from: Glatzmaier and Olson,2005,Scientific American, Probing the geodynamo.

Thanks and best regards,
Yalun Liang

 

[Mrfatso]

Not A Teacher

Yes it means that some regions have a magnetic field that is opposite that to the one that is normal for that hemisphere and they occur when magnetic fields occasionally burst from the core.

If you imagine the Earths magnetic field is like a bar magnet, with the Magnetic North Pole having one polarity + and the Magnetic South Pole the other - , then the lines of force of these polarities extend out from these points and towards the Equator. In some localised regions in the Northern Hemisphere a - charge is recorded and in the Southern Hemisphere a + charge recorded, due to occasionally occurring magnetic bursts according to the article.

 

[konungursvia]

These have typos. In each case it should read, "opposite to that of the rest of the hemisphere."

 

[liangyln]

Thanks for your help!Actually I know it's physical meaning, but confuse about the sentence itself.

 

[liangyln]

If this is the case, the problem is solve!
Thanks!

 

[emsr2d2]

I'm surprised that you couldn't find any examples of "be opposite something".

My house is opposite the church.
The church is opposite the bank.
The sofa is opposite the TV.

"The opposite of something" is different.

"Yes" is the opposite of "no".
"Up" is the opposite of "down".

He does the opposite of what he is told.

 

[liangyln]

Thank you very much!
I look up the dictionaries again and find it.
Now I think I make it clear.

When opposite is a preposition, it can be used as "be opposite sth" just as you said. Since this is quite strange to me, I somewhat ignore this usage in dictionary(quite sorry for that).

When opposite is a noun, it can be used as " the opposite of/to sth "

When it is an adjective, it can also be use as "be opposite to "(although many examples on the internet, I can't find this usage in dictionary.)
More details can be found in this website : http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/136940/opposite-to-or-opposite

Here I quote the answer of SG324:
"For this specific scenario, the usage of "opposite to" and "opposite" is indistinguishable in resulting meaning.However, they cannot be used interchangeably in all cases.
"Opposite" is utilized as an adjective in:

Their house is opposite to the Red Cross Hospital.
​

While it is utilized as a preposition in:

Their house is opposite the Red Cross Hospital.
​

The divergence lies in how "opposite" as an adjective can accept an argument before it takes on the prepositional phrase headed by "to" (PP-to).
So while we can say:

The dice are opposite [in color] to the marble.
​

We cannot say:

*The dice are opposite [in color] the marble.
​

But the following statements tend to be construed in the same manner:

The rook is opposite to the knight.
The rook is opposite [in position] to the knight.
The rook is opposite the knight.
​

This suggests that the prepositional variant, when contrasted to the adjectival variant, is limited to having the same implied meaning as "opposite in position to". So, in conclusion, "opposite" as the head of the adjectival phrase that dominates PP-to has the potential to be applied with a greater scope.
I think that about covers it.

 

[emsr2d2]

"Their house is opposite to the Red Cross hospital" is not grammatical.

 

[SoothingDave]

These have typos. In each case it should read, "opposite to that of the rest of the hemisphere."

I don't think there is a "to" missing.

 

[konungursvia]

Opposite without a preposition means across from, as in the bakery opposite the cinema. Opposite to means in the other direction, in a vector.