| Abstract Scope |
Chemical short-range order (CSRO), although thermodynamically driven, is usually a kinetically frozen imprint of an alloy’s cooling history, making it a characteristic yet elusive feature of most alloys, from commercial ones to high-entropy alloys (HEAs). This contribution surveys today’s most sensitive CSRO probes in single-phase HEA solid solutions—total scattering with pair distribution-function analysis, single-crystal diffuse scattering, element-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy, atomic-resolution X-ray holography, and complementary laboratory calorimetry and electrical resistivity. Typical hurdles in atomic-structure determination—minimal scattering contrast and an excess of refinable parameters—underscore the need for physically constrained, multimodal modelling that unifies these datasets. Though CSRO has a measurable effect on heat capacity and electrical resistivity, its influence on mechanical performance appears modest. Reconciling this contrast remains a key challenge for linking local order to macroscopic behaviour and guiding HEA design, but ít begins with rigorous control and reproducible formation of CSRO coupled with its reliable structural determination. |