William Grove produced the first fuel cell in 1839. He based his experiment on the fact that sending an electric current through water splits the water into its component parts of hydrogen and oxygen. So, Grove tried reversing the reaction—combining hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity and water. Eventually the term "fuel cell" was coined in 1889 by Ludwig Mond and Charles Langer, who attempted to build the first practical device using air and industrial coal gas. He also introduced a powerful battery at the annual meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1839. Grove's first cell consisted of zinc in diluted sulfuric acid and platinum in concentrated nitric acid, separated by a porous pot. The cell was able to generate about 12 amperes of current at about 1.8 volts. This cell had nearly double the voltage of the first Daniell cell. Grove's nitric acid cell was the favourite battery of the early American telegraph (1840–1860), because it offered strong current output.