It is like light? Or heat or gas? Or small particles like dust? How does it harm us?
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A radioactive atom is unstable. Given time it will either fission — i.e. split in two — or decay, emitting alpha, beta, or gamma radiation.
In the case of fission, the atom becomes two smaller atoms, and possibly one or more neutrons.
Beta particles are electrons; alpha particles are made of two protons and two neutrons, i.e. the nuclei of helium atoms.
Coming out of an atom, alphas, betas, and neutrons are moving at very high speed, so they can do damage to molecules they hit, breaking chemical bonds.
Gammas *are* light, of very high energy. They likewise can do damage.
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