Why can't waves (light) be in two mediums at the same time?

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Light cannot exist in two mediums simultaneously due to the principles of wave behavior and critical angles, leading to internal reflection instead. When light interacts with different mediums, it creates an evanescent wave that penetrates slightly into the lower refractive index medium, but does not fully transition into it. This phenomenon is related to surface plasmons, which involve the electromagnetic field's behavior at the interface of materials. Understanding these concepts can be complex, especially for those without a strong background in physics. Further exploration of surface plasmon resonance may provide additional insights into this topic.
i_m_mimi
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Technically the critical angle is impossible to occur, instead internal reflection occurs. This is because light can't be in two mediums at the same time. WHY?
What happens when the light particle/wave is in between two other medium particles?

Any links to help me answer this question would be helpful.
 
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Andy Resnick said:
Could you be referring to surface plasmons?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_plasmon_resonance

Unfortunately, I have no idea what it is talking about. Too many big words. I'm only in the 10th grade.
I don't really understand it, but I think you're on to something.

While incident light is totally reflected the electromagnetic field component penetrates a short (tens of nanometers) distance into a medium of a lower refractive index creating an exponentially detenuating evanescent wave.

This seems like something that might help me answer the question, but I don't know what it means.
 
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