We have mapped the molecular-atomic transition in liquid hydrogen using first
principles molecular dynamics. We predict that a molecular phase with
short-range orientational order exists at pressures above 100 GPa. The presence
of this ordering and the structure emerging near the dissociation transition
provide an explanation for the sharpness of the molecular-atomic crossover and
the concurrent pressure drop at high pressures. Our findings have non-trivial
implications for simulations of hydrogen; previous equation of state data for
the molecular liquid may require revision. Arguments for the possibility of a
1st order liquid-liquid transition are discussed