In some countries "bateria" is any size battery. In other countries "bateria" is any large batteries, like those for cars, and "pila" is a small battery like those AAA. The secret is size and voltage, you have D size batteries that are "pilas" and batteries for laptops about the same size that are "baterías". One is 1.5Volt, the other one is, for instance, 11 Volts. In fact "una batería" is technologically -or it used to be- an arrange of "pilas" or individual cells. In English, (voltaic) pile has been left in the cold of encyclopedias while battery took its place. [In Spanish "batería" have several meanings, one of them being a set of elements that do the same or are used by the same person or system: batería -drums-, batería de cocina -set of pans, kettles, etc-, batería -set of "batteries" or cells arranged together to give a higher voltage-]
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