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An investigation of the stability characteristics of infinitesimal disturbances in selected laminar boundary-layer profiles was conducted. The re sults of the investigation give quantitative in dications of the influence on boundary-layer stability of foreign gas injection, applied magnetic fields, and applied external shear. It is quantitatively shown that injected gases of large molecular weight and diameter may result in stabilization, whereas the light, small-diameter gases are generally destabilizing except for large values of the wall-to-free-stream temperature ratio. In addition, it is shown that a moderate external shear yields only percentage changes in the stability characteristics, whereas an applied magnetic field can produce order of magnitude changes in the stability.