Such equilibrium inhomogeneity, induced by external forces, does not occur for the intensive variable temperature. According to E.A. Guggenheim, "The most important conception of thermodynamics is temperature." Planck introduces his treatise with a brief account of heat and temperature and thermal equilibrium, and then announces: "In the following we shall deal chiefly with homogeneous, isotropic bodies of any form, possessing throughout their substance the same temperature and density, and subject to a uniform pressure acting everywhere perpendicular to the surface." As did Carathéodory, Planck was setting aside surface effects and external fields and anisotropic crystals. Though referring to temperature, Planck did not there explicitly refer to the concept of thermodynamic equilibrium. In contrast, Carathéodorys scheme of presentation of classical thermodynamics for closed systems postulates the concept of an "equilibrium state" following Gibbs (Gibbs speaks routinely of a "thermodynamic state"), though not explicitly using the phrase thermodynamic equilibrium', nor explicitly postulating the existence of a temperature to define it.
The temperature within a system in thermodynamic equilibrium is uniform in space as well as in time. In a system in its own state of internal thermodynamic equilibrium, there are no net internal macroscopic flows. In particular, this means that all local parts of the system are in mutual radiative exchange equilibrium. This means that the temperature of the system is spatially uniform. This is so in all cases, including those of non-uniform external force fields. For an externally imposed gravitational field, this may be proved in macroscopic thermodynamic terms, by the calculus of variations, using the method of Langrangian multipliers. Considerations of kinetic theory or statistical mechanics also support this statement.
In order that a system may be in its own internal state of thermodynamic equilibrium, it is of course necessary, but not sufficient, that it be in its own internal state of thermal equilibrium; it is possible for a system to reach internal mechanical equilibrium before it reaches internal thermal equilibrium.