We prove the unitary equivalence of the inverse of the Krein--von Neumann extension (on the orthogonal complement of its kernel) of a densely defined, closed, strictly positive operator, $Sgeq epsilon I_{mathcal{H}}$ for some $epsilon >0$ in a Hilbert space $mathcal{H}$ to an abstract buckling problem operator. In the concrete case where $S=bar{-Delta|_{C_0^infty(Omega)}}$ in $L^2(Omega; d^n x)$ for $Omegasubsetmathbb{R}^n$ an open, bounded (and sufficiently regular) domain, this recovers, as a particular case of a general result due to G. Grubb, that the eigenvalue problem for the Krein Laplacian $S_K$ (i.e., the Krein--von Neumann extension of $S$), [ S_K v = lambda v, quad lambda eq 0, ] is in one-to-one correspondence with the problem of {em the buckling of a clamped plate}, [ (-Delta)^2u=lambda (-Delta) u text{in} Omega, quad lambda eq 0, quad uin H_0^2(Omega), ] where $u$ and $v$ are related via the pair of formulas [ u = S_F^{-1} (-Delta) v, quad v = lambda^{-1}(-Delta) u, ] with $S_F$ the Friedrichs extension of $S$. This establishes the Krein extension as a natural object in elasticity theory (in analogy to the Friedrichs extension, which found natural applications in quantum mechanics, elasticity, etc.).
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