It's good to be accurate. :)
So if I understand correctly, in the first part you're saying the circuit to the coil is normally complete and the ECU opens it with each pulse.
Correct, and is called "dwell time" for the coil to build a good field.
It's also why the OE coil needs it's voltage dropped so it doesn't overheat.
The OE box is just an electronic set of points if you think about it.
Points are normally closed but open at the set intervals the points cam dictates.
That closed time is dwell.
