Hi herbymcduff,
Well, yes, in a manner of speaking, it is pulsating.
when you feed the output back to the input,
the transistor bounces around, its output is driving
its input, its called positive feed back.
Thats about as non-technical as i can get.
Oscillators are a study in themselves, there are many
types.
The winding with many turns would give the
step-up output, if the circuit doesn't self-excite
then try reversing either the winding in the collector
path, or the winding in the base path.
The feed back has to be 'in phase' with the output
to cause oscillation.
I hope my explanation has not left you more confused.
Regards, John