Electric battery common fuels such as gasoline. In automobiles, this is somewhat offset by the higher efficiency of electric motors in converting chemical energy to mechanical work, compared to combustion engines. The usage of "battery" to describe a group of electrical devices dates to Benjamin Franklin, who in 1748 described multiple Leyden jars by analogy to a battery of cannon (Benjamin Franklin borrowed the term "battery" from the military, which refers to weapons functioning together). Italian physicist Alessandro Volta built and described the first electrochemical battery, the voltaic pile, in 1800. This was a stack of copper and zinc plates, separated by
2011 Volta a Portugal August 2011 – Sintra to Lisboa, 2011 Volta a Portugal The 2011 Volta a Portugal is a men's road bicycle race held from 4 to 15 August 2011. It is the 73rd edition of the men's stage race to be held, which was established in 1927. A part of the 2010–2011 UCI Europe Tour, it is rated as a 2.1 event. 14 teams are invited to the 2011 Volta a Portugal, but the Italian team Acqua & Sapone remove its inscription in the Volta a Portugal, due to lack of cyclists to participate. 1 team is from the UCI ProTeams,